The question of whether Canelo Alvarez is the same guy will likely be answered when he faces Mbilli for his WBC super middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN PPV. Mbilli doesn’t believe Alvarez is the same fighter who ruled at 168 pounds from 2020 to 2025, though he isn’t underestimating him.

“I think his performance is going down, but he's still very dangerous,” Mbilli said on the Mr. Verzace Podcast. “I think it's a very perfect timing for me to beat him.”

Mbilli, 31, last fought to a split draw against Lester Martinez to retain the interim WBC super middleweight title on the undercard of Alvarez’s unanimous decision defeat to Terence Crawford on September 13 in Las Vegas. While his brutal 10-round clash with Martinez (20-0-1, 16 KOs), The Ring’s No. 4-ranked super middleweight, was a "Fight of the Year" contender, the Quebec-based Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) said he was far from 100 percent due to the rapid turnaround he had to make after his first-round stoppage of Maciej Sulecki on June 27.

Mbilli, The Ring’s No. 3-ranked super middleweight, was elevated to full champion in December after Terence Crawford was stripped of the title. The Cameroonian will be coming off a one-year layoff for just the second time in his career, and with the extra time to prepare, he believes he’ll reach another level against Alvarez.

“I will not change anything,” Mbilli said. “I will punch the first second and the last second of the fight. I hope he will be ready, because it will be an amazing fight for him. I think he will regret to be in the ring.”

Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs), 35, hasn’t fought since his loss to Crawford and underwent left elbow surgery in October, which delayed his return. Before then, the Mexican was undefeated in 12 fights at 168 pounds.

Alvarez, a four-division titleholder and two-time undisputed super middleweight champion, is The Ring’s No. 1-ranked super middleweight.

For Mbilli, Alvarez represents the biggest fight and likely the toughest challenge of his career. On the other side of the coin, Alvarez is looking to prove he has one last run left in him before his illustrious career comes to an end.

Ultimately, Mbilli believes his pressure style and ability to fight at a relentless pace will lead to him emphatically starting his reign in the super middleweight division.

“My aggressiveness, my pressure, he never fought people who throw a lot of punches like me and put a lot of pressure,” Mbilli said. “Physically, I want to destroy him.”