Christian Mbilli vs Canelo: Jaime Munguia predicts Alvarez knockout win

Canelo Alvarez has not won inside the distance since stopping Caleb Plant in 2021, but WBA champion Jaime Munguia expects him to knock out Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on 31 October.

WBA super-middleweight champion Jaime Munguia expects Canelo Alvarez to knock out Christian Mbilli when the Mexican challenges for the WBC title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday 31 October. Munguia, who is Alvarez's stablemate and a former opponent, told Ring Magazine that Alvarez would stop Mbilli, although he would not name a round.

The prediction runs against Alvarez's recent form. He has not won inside the distance since stopping Caleb Plant in 2021, and he goes into the fight as a challenger after losing all four of his super-middleweight world titles to Terence Crawford last year.

Crawford's retirement left those belts with different fighters. Mbilli won the WBC title, Osleys Iglesias took the IBF belt and Hamzah Sheeraz won and then vacated the WBO title. Armando Reséndiz was initially elevated to WBA champion before Munguia beat him for it. Each of the division's leading fighters hopes for a lucrative fight with Alvarez if he beats Mbilli.

On Alvarez's preparation, Munguia said: “Yeah, [he is training harder than ever]. He is training good.” Munguia fights Nikita Zon of Russia on the undercard. It is not yet known whether his WBA title will be at stake, because the WBA did not initially approve the bout and instead ordered him to face Bektemir Melikuziev.

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