A big update has been provided ahead of Canelo Alvarez‘s planned return to the ring.
His last fight took place in September when he defended his undisputed super-middleweight crown against Terence Crawford, but the Mexican superstar suffered an upset unanimous decision loss.
His hopes of securing a rematch with Crawford were ended when ‘Bud’ announced his retirement in December, with Canelo instead recovering from elbow surgery and targeting a return to action later this year, which is set to take place in Saudi Arabia in September.
A number of opponents have been linked to a clash against Alvarez, but it seems that one world champion is the current frontrunner to secure the bout.
Speaking to FightsATW, promoter Camille Estephan claimed a clash between Canelo and his fighter Christian Mbilli is ‘as close as ever’ to happening.
“I think Canelo wants to fight Mbilli and Mbilli wants to fight Canelo. We have spoken many times, and the will is there to make it happen.
It’s as close as ever. Christian has the WBC title, and Canelo wants it back, but we don’t want to give it back.”
Mbilli has an unbeaten record of 29-0-1, with 24 of those wins coming by knockout. He became interim WBC super-middleweight champion last year, stopping Maciej Sulecki inside one round in June before a draw against Lester Martinez three months later.
He has since been elevated to full WBC champion following Crawford’s retirement, and after spending several years stating his desire to secure a clash against Alvarez, it appears he could be on the brink of his wish becoming a reality.