Canelo Alvarez is moving his training camp to Gandía, Spain, ahead of his October 31 super middleweight fight against WBC champion Christian Mbilli in Riyadh. Alvarez aims to beat time-zone fatigue after losing his undisputed belts to Terence Crawford.
Canelo Alvarez is ditching his usual routine to save his career momentum. Trainer Eddy Reynoso is packing up the team and flying to Gandía, Spain, for seven weeks before landing in Saudi Arabia for fight week.
The Mexican superstar learned his lesson the hard way in May 2025 against William Scull. That bout kicked off near sunrise to hit prime-time viewing hours in North America, leaving Canelo exhausted. Setting up in Spain puts him within one or two hours of Riyadh time. Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk even handed over his private training base to help Canelo prepare.
He needs every advantage he can get. Canelo enters the ring as a challenger after Terence Crawford snatched his undisputed titles last September and forced him under the knife for elbow surgery. Now 36, Canelo wants Mbilli’s WBC belt. But the champion is a non-stop punching machine who never stops moving forward.
“He’s a strong rival. He throws a lot of punches. He’s a very strong person. That’s what I like, being in there. He throws a lot of punches, and I really like that,” Canelo stated ahead of the bout.
Mbilli swings wildly and leaves open targets for counter-punches, especially Canelo’s dangerous right uppercut. However, firing those counters requires total trust in his newly repaired elbow. If Canelo spends long stretches covering up against the ropes, Mbilli’s frantic work rate could easily steal rounds on the scorecards.
Canelo insists his body is completely ready for war.
“I really feel very good. I feel very good in the gym. I was thinking yesterday that in two or three weeks I’d be ready. We still have eight or nine weeks left, and I feel very good,” Canelo insisted.
Quality against quantity will define this contest. If Canelo conserves energy and waits too long between shots, Mbilli will overrun him. The Spanish sun will fix his clock, but only sharp counters can rescue his standing at the top.
