Crawford Backs Canelo Over Mbilli: "Styles Make Fights"

Terence Crawford knows exactly what it takes to beat Canelo Alvarez — he did it just over a year ago. Now the undefeated American, 42-0 (31 KO), has handed down his verdict on Canelo's next assignment: a WBC super-middleweight title challenge against Christian Mbilli in Riyadh this Saturday. Crawford's read is blunt. He doesn't see Mbilli winning a boxing match against the Mexican.

Canelo, 63-2-2 (39 KO), hasn't fought since September 2025, when Crawford dethroned him by unanimous decision and promptly walked away from the sport. That retirement left the 168lb belts scattered, and Mbilli was the man who benefited — upgraded from WBC interim champ to full titleholder without having to earn it in the ring.

Why Crawford Likes Canelo

Crawford's logic, delivered to DAZN, comes down to that old boxing truth: styles make fights. He argued Mbilli's game is tailor-made for Canelo to handle. The way Crawford sees it, Mbilli has little choice but to press forward, and that's precisely the kind of opponent Canelo has made a career out of picking apart. His advice to Mbilli, essentially, was to abandon the chess match and turn it into a brawl — let the hands go, rough Canelo up, make it ugly.

That's not a crazy suggestion given where Mbilli is coming from. His own last appearance, also in September 2025, ended in a draw with Lester Martinez. For a fighter sitting at unbeaten across 30 pro outings, it was the first time in his career he didn't leave with his hand raised. He's still technically undefeated, but the shine on that record took its first scuff.

What's Waiting If Mbilli Wins

Mbilli isn't short on ambition if he gets past Canelo. He's floated the idea of a rematch, or a unification bout against IBF champion Osleys Iglesias — a promotional stablemate who's quietly built one of the more frightening records in the division at 15-0 with 14 knockouts. Iglesias last stopped Pavel Silyagin by eighth-round retirement, so a Mbilli-Iglesias fight would be no soft touch.

But that's all downstream of Saturday. Canelo's two career losses have come against Dmitry Bivol and Crawford — elite operators who outboxed him rather than outmuscled him. If Crawford's analysis holds, a forward-pressing Mbilli may be walking into the exact style Canelo thrives against. We'll find out in Riyadh.