Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli still on in Riyadh despite US travel warning

Turki Alalshikh has published a fight-week schedule for the WBC super-middleweight title fight at Kingdom Arena, after a Houthi attack on Riyadh's main airport killed at least 12 people.

Canelo Alvarez's attempt to win back the WBC super-middleweight title from Christian Mbilli is still scheduled for Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, with Saudi Arabian officials maintaining that the DAZN-televised event will go ahead as planned.

The fight is going ahead amid escalating conflict in the region. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis attacked Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport last Saturday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 300. Since then, the rebels have widened their campaign with drone and ballistic missile strikes across Saudi Arabia and Yemen, targeting oil infrastructure, regional airports and military installations.

The airport attack led the US government to place most of Saudi Arabia under a “Level 3 – Reconsider Travel” advisory, with some areas near the Yemeni border given the more serious “Level 4 – Do Not Travel” warning.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, said last week that the fight will take place “no matter what happens.” He has since published the fight-week schedule. The fighters' grand arrivals are on Wednesday 28 October, followed by a press conference on Thursday 29 October and the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday 30 October. Ring walks on Saturday's fight night are expected around 9pm local Riyadh time.

Alvarez, a four-division world champion, is challenging Mbilli for the belt that Mbilli now holds.

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