Canelo vs Mbilli Officially Confirmed for October 31 Despite VADA Testing Delay
The WBC super middleweight title fight is set for Riyadh, but VADA testing still has not been funded.
Turki Alalshikh confirmed on social media that Canelo Alvarez will challenge WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli on October 31 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight will stream on DAZN.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire reported significant lingering issues with the event, per Bad Left Hook. Chief among them: organizer Sela has still not funded VADA testing with the fight just five weeks away.
The testing delay is especially problematic given Canelo's history. The Mexican star tested positive for clenbuterol in 2018, a case he attributed to contaminated meat. That episode makes any gap in anti-doping protocols around a Canelo fight a lightning rod for criticism.
Beyond the testing issue, the event's undercard remains largely unannounced with barely a month to go. A U.S. State Department travel advisory issued September 15 cautioning Americans about Iranian drone and missile risks in Saudi Arabia adds another layer of complication for any fighters or fans considering the trip.
The Ring announced ticket availability on September 29, putting to rest one concern. But the combination of missing VADA funding, a thin undercard, and a geopolitical warning paints a messy picture for what should be a marquee fight night, per Boxing News 24.
Canelo, DAZN, and the WBC have all promoted the matchup, and the fight appears to be moving forward regardless of the red flags.
Five weeks out and VADA testing still isn't funded. Let that sink in. This is a Canelo fight. The one guy in boxing who absolutely cannot afford any ambiguity around drug testing is fighting without the independent testing program up and running.
I've said it before on this site: the VADA situation is the real story here, not whether Canelo beats Mbilli. He almost certainly does. Mbilli is a solid fighter, but Canelo at 168 is still the class of the division when he's locked in. The question is whether the people putting this event together care enough about the sport's integrity to get the basics right.
The Riyadh machine has changed boxing for the better in a lot of ways, primarily by paying fighters what they deserve. But cutting corners on anti-doping is not an acceptable trade-off. Get the testing funded, fill out the undercard, and give this fight the professionalism it deserves. Otherwise you're just throwing money at a problem and hoping nobody notices.
