Canelo Alvarez Wants His Final Fight at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City
Canelo envisions a farewell fight in Mexico City, but Christian Mbilli stands in his way first.
Canelo Alvarez is thinking about the end. The Mexican superstar told ESPN that he wants his final fight to take place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, a fitting farewell for the biggest boxing star his country has produced in a generation.
"I want my last fight to be in Mexico," Canelo said. "I visualized myself fighting there."
Canelo has already held a Zoom call with Emilio Azcarraga to explore staging the farewell at the iconic stadium. But before any of that can happen, he has business to handle. Christian Mbilli is next, scheduled for October 31, and the Cameroonian-Canadian puncher represents a real threat to Canelo's timeline.
The Mbilli fight is the third bout in a four-fight Riyadh Season deal, meaning Canelo still has one contractual obligation remaining after Halloween night. A decisive loss to Mbilli could accelerate the retirement conversation. Per Boxing News 24, if Canelo gets beaten badly, he could negotiate with Riyadh Season to restructure those remaining obligations and move straight to the Mexico City farewell.
A victory, on the other hand, keeps Canelo in the championship hunt and could push the Azteca event further down the road. Either way, when that final fight comes, Canelo has made it clear: it will be about celebrating the career, not chasing a belt.
This is Canelo doing what the greats do: picking his exit on his own terms. The Azteca farewell makes all the sense in the world. Imagine 80,000 people in Mexico City for his last walk to the ring. That would be one of the biggest moments in boxing history, period.
But let's pump the brakes for a second. Mbilli is no tuneup. The guy hits like a truck and he's young and hungry. If Mbilli catches Canelo clean on October 31, the whole farewell tour gets rewritten. Canelo at 36 is still elite, but the margin for error shrinks every year. I think he handles Mbilli on points, maybe a late stoppage if Mbilli fades, but if he doesn't, this Azteca dream might arrive sooner and sadder than anyone planned.
