“He’s going to grind him up. I like him, Billy. Bad guy, come bring the pain. It’s going to be a hell of a fight. But Canelo is going to catch and shoot his ass all night long. Uppercuts, hooks. Oh, it’s going to be bad,” Bradley told Fighthype.
Bradley said the show could remind fans of the version of Canelo who controlled fights with timing and counters during his prime.
“He’s going to look like he’s back. Like he’s back. He’s going to look like He-Man again,” Tim said.
Bradley is banking on the “Master Counter-puncher” version of Canelo coming up, but the 2025-2026 version of Canelo has looked a lot more human, especially after that big loss to Terence Crawford and subsequent elbow surgery.
The Lester Martinez fight from last September is the perfect blueprint for how Mbilli can ruin Canelo’s night. Even though that fight ended in a split draw, the sheer volume was staggering.
Lester Martinez and Mbilli combined for nearly 1,800 hits over 10 rounds. Even on his best day, Canelo hasn’t come close to those numbers in years. Canelo’s stamina has been his Achilles heel of late.
If Mbilli forces him to work at a 90-punch-per-round clip, Canelo’s low-volume, “wait and see” approach could cause him to lose rounds simply on activity.
Canelo can’t scare him with his inside game. Mbilli is a physical specimen who thrives in the phone booth. Unlike Munguia or Berlanga, who backed off when Canelo landed a heavy counter, Mbilli showed he’ll eat a shot to return three.
