Alvarez dropped a unanimous decision against Crawford and lost his undisputed super middleweight title in September 2025. Three months later, Crawford retired, and the sequel the boxing world briefly wondered about never came to be.

Alvarez, 36, is adamant that a rematch needs to happen because the result would be much different, and says it's the exact superfight that boxing needs. Crawford, meanwhile, has not made any declarations that he's willing to come back at 39.

"I hope that it happens again. I think we need it. It's no bigger fight than that. If not, I wish him the best," Alvarez said in an interview with The Ring's Mike Coppinger. "If you realize, I always do good in my rematch. So I hope that fight happens again.

"I just try to learn as much as I can and get better and do better in the ring. I watched the fight like five times. It was very close. It was not that far. It's very little to have the win or the loss. But I know what happened, and I know my mistakes. Plus, Crawford is a great fighter, and you need to be 100 percent with that level of fighter."

Alvarez underwent left elbow surgery a month after the clash against Crawford.

Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) opted not to take a tune-up tilt and will be walking straight into the fire against Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs), the WBC super middleweight champion The fight will headline a "Mexico vs. The World" show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. DAZN will offer the card to subscribers of its Ultimate plan and on pay-per-view.

"He's hungry. He comes forward. He throws a lot of punches. He's a champion. But I'm here to win. I've been in that position a lot of times, and it's nothing new for me," Alvarez said. "I love [the pressure Mbilli will bring]. I like to fight. That's what we want — a fight. And I think the style is perfect to make a great fight. I love the idea that he's coming to put the pressure on me; I'm going to be there.

"I don't think he has the style to [want to survive]. So, he's going to come and throw a lot of punches and do his best. He's a champion and a very aggressive fighter. He comes forward, and that makes me excited because it's a good style to make for a good fight. It could be a fight of the year."

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan