Update, September 29: Shortly after this article was published, The Ring posted “Get your tickets now” for the October 31 Canelo Alvarez–Christian Mbilli card. The ticket concern raised below has changed. Questions about the complete undercard and the reported VADA funding delay remain.
🇲🇽 MEXICO VS THE WORLD 🌍
🥊 Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli
👑 WBC Super Middleweight
📆 October 31st
📺 DAZN
📍 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia @RiyadhSeason 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/ehjRVQINIF— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) September 29, 2026
Canelo Alvarez is supposed to challenge Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31. Ticket sales are now being promoted, but the full undercard has not been announced, and a report says the event’s VADA testing program has yet to be funded. For a Canelo pay per view only a month away, those are substantial pieces of unfinished business.
Boxing journalist Dan Rafael raised the ticket and card gaps Tuesday, before The Ring’s ticket post. He also pointed to the U.S. State Department’s September 15 advisory urging Americans to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia because of risks that include Iranian drone and missile attacks. The warning does not prohibit travel, but fans traveling to Riyadh still have limited time to arrange flights and hotels.
The testing issue is more serious than a delayed advertising campaign. BoxingScene reported Monday that Sela had not funded VADA testing for Canelo and Mbilli, citing an official familiar with the arrangement. Four weeks before a major title fight, that is a significant lapse for the organizer. Every day without funding cuts into the time available for testing, and Canelo’s 2018 clenbuterol case makes the delay especially hard to defend.
Canelo has confirmed October 31, DAZN has promoted the matchup, and the WBC has identified ANB Arena as the venue. The Ring’s ticket push is another concrete step toward staging the event. It does not, by itself, settle how the fighters will be tested or tell pay per view buyers what else is on the card.
Mbilli is a dangerous, aggressive WBC champion, but casual American viewers may need more than Canelo’s name to justify buying the broadcast. Announcing the supporting fights would give organizers time to build interest in the full show and introduce Mbilli to viewers who have barely seen him.
Ticket promotion answers one of Rafael’s immediate concerns. Sela still needs to announce the complete card and clarify the VADA arrangement. Selling seats is progress; the testing clock continues to run.