Promoter Turki Al-Sheikh says Saul “Canelo” Alvarez remains committed to facing Montreal-based WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31 despite deadly attacks on the Saudi capital’s airport.

The statement keeps one of boxing’s highest-profile bouts on the calendar, but it is not the same as an independent safety assessment. Alvarez’s representatives did not immediately respond to Reuters for comment, and the security situation remains volatile.

Promoter says Alvarez reached out

Al-Sheikh, who chairs Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, wrote Sunday that Alvarez had contacted him and said he would still fight in Riyadh. Reuters reported the statement Monday.

Alvarez is scheduled to challenge Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight title. The WBC’s current event calendar lists the matchup for October 31 in Riyadh and identifies Mbilli with Cameroon and Canada. The unbeaten champion trains out of Montreal.

The bout would be Alvarez’s first since his September 2025 loss to Terence Crawford. For Mbilli, it is a first defence of the full WBC championship after he was elevated from interim champion in January.

Fight plan intersects with security crisis

The announcement follows two attacks on King Khalid International Airport. Reuters reported that Saturday’s strike killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, while another attack Sunday killed one person and injured nearly a dozen more. Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.

The Government of Canada currently advises Canadians to avoid all travel to King Khalid International Airport because of ongoing military activity and to avoid non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia. Its advisory says the airport is closed and warns that airspace and airport operations can change with little or no notice.

The WBC continued to list the fight Monday, but the promoter’s assurance does not rule out later changes to the venue, travel arrangements or event status. Spectators should rely on official event and travel updates rather than assume the schedule is final.

Sources: Reuters, October 12 at 3:03 a.m. UTC; World Boxing Council event calendar; Government of Canada travel advice, updated October 11; Wikimedia Commons image page.

Lead image: Canelo Alvarez at a December 2025 promotional appearance in Illinois, photographed by Wiknown77 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. File photo; not an image from Riyadh or of Christian Mbilli.