This version of Canelo is 35, coming off elbow surgery, a loss to Terence Crawford, and recent fights where sustained pressure has increasingly pushed him to the ropes rather than in command of the center ring.
Mbilli, meanwhile, fights at a much higher pace than the fighters Canelo has struggled with in spots recently. Crawford pressed selectively. Edgar Berlanga only attacked with urgency late in their fight. William Scull had moments. Mbilli fights for whole fights like that.
“I won’t change anything,” Mbilli said during Friday’s press conference in Cairo, before detailing exactly how he intends to approach the fight.
“I’ll keep my style, throw punches, apply pressure, and we’ll see if he can handle it, you know.”
Mbilli also dismissed the idea that he would approach Canelo with the caution shown by some of Alvarez’s recent opponents.
“You’re going to be surprised in September,” Mbilli said. “I am not Berlanga. I am not Munguia.”
Canelo seemed annoyed at the suggestion that age and timing were working against him.
“He says it’s the perfect time because I’m old,” Canelo said. “I tell him: if I were 50 years old, you still can’t beat me in this life.”
The DAZN panel repeatedly described Mbilli as a favorable style matchup for Canelo due to his willingness to push forward. Sergio Mora argued that Canelo traditionally struggles more with movers and heavy boxers like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Dmitry Bivol and Crawford. But Mbilli’s pressure could present a very different problem.
The undefeated WBC super middleweight champion throws non-stop combinations, stays in range and doesn’t seem discouraged by counters. In his fight against Lester Martinez last September, Mbilli continued to force exchanges even after absorbing power shots. Martinez repeatedly resorted to pushing Mbilli backwards to create space and slow down the pace.
Canelo has never relied on that kind of rough-and-tumble approach to manage pressure. Earlier in his career he controlled aggressive fighters with body punches, counter punches, power and positioning. The question now is whether he can do it for 12 more rounds against an obviously bigger, younger super middleweight who fights at a pace that few opponents in the division can maintain.
“I love it,” Canelo said when asked about an opponent who plans to come right at him.
