Canelo Alvarez has revealed his fight against Christian Mbilli was delayed purely for family reasons.
Alvarez, a two-time undisputed champion, was scheduled to face Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title on September 12 in line with Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
But last month, a sudden announcement revealed Alvarez vs Mbilli had been postponed for no apparent reason.
Boxing fans assumed it was delayed to make way for Ryan Garcia’s WBC welterweight title defence against Conor Benn, with that fight now confirmed for September 12 in Las Vegas.
But speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Alvarez said he wasn’t ready to enter training camp due to family issues, so asked for his September clash against Mbilli to be delayed.
‘I needed to attend to my family first’
“There were some problems in my family that I needed to fix, but everything is good now,” the 36-year-old said.
“I’m always very disciplined and very organised with my training camps, and I wasn’t ready to be in a training camp.
“So that’s why I postponed the fight. I needed to attend to my family first.
“But it’s all good now. I’m ready to train and we’ll be ready for October 31.
“That’s the new date. Still Mbilli.”
Asked if he was bothered about the Mbilli fight being moved away from Mexican Independence Day weekend, Alvarez responded: “For me, every day is Mexican day.
“I feel proud about representing my country and my people.
“Any day is good, especially for this kind of fight.”
Still going
Alvarez vs Mbilli hasn’t been announced yet, but the fight is expected to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It will be the first time since 2021 Alvarez hasn’t competed during Cinco de Mayo.
Last time out, Alvarez lost the undisputed super middleweight crown to Terence Crawford, who has since retired from the sweet science, in one of boxing’s greatest spectacles.
Having suffered an elbow injury during the unanimous decision loss that forced surgery, he’s now ready to make a grand return against Mbilli.
In terms of after that, a rematch with Crawford is front and centre of Team Canelo’s plans, if the former decides to make an unlikely comeback.
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In May, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul also said he was willing to offer Alvarez $200million for a fight, having allegedly signed a deal to take on the Mexican superstar last year.
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