William Scull clearly tried to survive, not win, yet Alvarez shouldered some of the blame for their boring bout because he did little to prevent the former IBF super middleweight champ from accomplishing his primary mission of lasting 12 rounds. Nearly 18 months later, Alvarez has returned to the Saudi capital, where understandable safety concerns have somewhat overshadowed his fight itself.

At 36, the Mexican icon intends to prove that his subpar performance versus Scull and subsequent defeat to Crawford weren’t proof that the vintage Alvarez no longer exists.

The former four-division champion and Eddy Reynoso, his trainer/manager, admit that Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) is in the twilight of his celebrated career. They have also assured Alvarez’s loud legion of critics that we’ll see the old Canelo when he challenges Christian Mbilli for Cameroonian champion’s WBC super middleweight title Saturday night at Kingdom Arena, not an old Canelo.

Thursday marked the 21st anniversary of Alvarez’s pro debut. The Guadalajara native was just 15 when he stopped countryman Abraham Gonzalez in the fourth round of their October 2005 bout in Tonala, Mexico.

Sixty-seven fights, 528 rounds, five divisions and hundreds of millions of dollars in purses later, a re-energized Alvarez swears he is hungry again, despite widespread doubt about his ability to fight like the pound-for-pound king he was before Dmitry Bivol upset him in May 2022. Though older than his actual age in boxing years because he turned pro so young, Alvarez is also well rested and healthier after a surgical procedure on his left elbow a year ago.

Crawford, David Benavidez and Abel Sanchez, who trained Gennadiy Golovkin for his three fights against Alvarez, all believe that the calculated counterpuncher has been matched with the perfect opponent to make millions of skeptics believe in him again.

Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) is a relentless volume puncher who will force Alvarez to fight, something Scull couldn’t do. His non-stop pressure could cause problems for Alvarez, whose stamina has been an issue in some of his biggest fights.

The confident champion is dangerous, yet so offensively driven that he is susceptible to the types of body shots and uppercuts Alvarez has utilized to defeat formidable fighters.

Alvarez is more than a 2-1 favorite according to most sportsbooks. Less favorable, he hasn’t boxed since he lost a unanimous decision and his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound crowns to Crawford 13½ months ago at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old Mbilli, motivated by the opportunity of his lifetime, hasn’t fought since his spirited split draw with Lester Martinez on the Alvarez-Crawford undercard, either. Still, the Montreal-based brawler is five years younger than Alvarez and predicted Thursday that he’ll “shock” the boxing world when they square off in a 12-round main event DAZN will offer worldwide on pay-per-view and as part of the streaming service’s monthly Ultimate plan.

An unfazed Alvarez promised Mbilli he is the one in for a surprise when he encounters the most accomplished, experienced, durable opponent of his nine-year professional career. Beating Mbilli would represent Alvarez’s most significant victory since he stopped then-unbeaten Caleb Plant in the 11th round to become undisputed super middleweight champ in November 2021.

There was no shame in losing to a fellow generational great like Crawford. Suffering a second straight defeat for the first time in his Hall-of-Fame career, this time to a lesser fighter, would prove, however, that the vintage Alvarez no longer exists.

Thank you Naoya Inoue for pressuring Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’s team into at least talking about fighting the Japanese superstar next.

By threatening to move up to featherweight if Rodriguez (24-0, 17 KOs) doesn’t embrace fighting for his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles, Inoue might’ve spared us a meaningless bantamweight bout for Rodriguez before the end of 2026. Rodriguez’s handlers have pushed for a fight with WBO bantamweight champ Christian Medina (27-4, 19 KOs) since the second he knocked out Antonio Vargas in the fifth round June 13.

But why, other than securing a relatively easy payday, does Rodriguez need another 118-pound bout to get ready to challenge the best 122-pound fighter in boxing? It would make more sense if Rodriguez’s representatives insisted upon at least one 122-pound bout before facing Inoue.

Becoming accustomed to a new weight class before the most difficult fight of Rodriguez’s career would be a reasonable request. Facing a huge underdog, even in a bantamweight title unification fight, seems unnecessary, especially since it could cost the 26-year-old Rodriguez the biggest opportunity and payday of his career.

Benavidez’s optimism seems genuine, but it’s unlikely Oleksandr Usyk will drop down to cruiserweight again to fight him.

It’s a fascinating fight for which Usyk could command a huge purse. The unbeaten Ukrainian will turn 40 in January, though, and would need to come down 33-plus pounds from what he weighed for his last appearance – a surprisingly difficult 11th-round stoppage of kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven – to make the cruiserweight limit.

Why would the former undisputed heavyweight and cruiserweight champ concede his leverage, rather than forcing Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) to move up for his first heavyweight fight? And why not just take on the Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua winner a third time and make even more money?

That said, Benavidez versus Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) is a welcome alternative if boxing politics prevent “The Mexican Monster” from facing Ring cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) in his first fight of 2027.

■ We shouldn’t complain if, after all these failed negotiations, Shakur Stevenson winds up facing Raymond Muratalla next. It isn’t the highest-profile fight, but it’s intriguing and probably more competitive than Stevenson versus Gary Antuanne Russell or Jose Valenzuela.

■ It seems more than fair at this point to insist Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis ditch his nickname.

■ Nothing should signify that the gift-giving season is almost upon us more than Jake Paul’s announcement Thursday that he’ll fight another unaccomplished underdog to be determined on Christmas Eve in Dubai.