Alvarez keeps Oct. 31 Riyadh title fight on schedule

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will fight Christian M’Billi in Riyadh on Oct. 31, promoter Turki Al-Sheikh said in an X post cited by Firstpost on Oct. 12.

The decision keeps the WBC super-middleweight title bout on Saudi Arabia’s sports calendar after Firstpost reported 12 deaths and more than 300 injuries in an airport strike it described as one of the country’s deadliest in over a decade.

Al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, said Alvarez contacted him after the attack. “Canelo reached out and told me he’ll still fight in Riyadh this October, no matter what happens. He fears nothing,” Al-Sheikh wrote, according to Firstpost.

Firstpost reported that Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The article also cited a later reported Houthi attack that killed one person and injured a dozen, but did not give official Saudi confirmation or further security details.

Alvarez, a former two-time undisputed super-middleweight champion, is due to face WBC super-middleweight champion M’Billi at The Venue in Riyadh. Firstpost said the Mexican boxer has not fought since losing to Terence Crawford in September 2025.

The report leaves unresolved whether Saudi authorities or event organisers will alter security arrangements before the fight. No direct statement from Alvarez was included beyond Al-Sheikh’s account of their communication.