- Jaime Munguia took the WBA super middleweight title from Resendiz on Saturday and publicly said yes to Canelo's invite to the September 12 Riyadh card
- Reporting on the ground says Christian Mbilli already has the September 12 contract for the WBC super middleweight strap with Canelo
- Luke says Munguia is being parked as a co-feature builder for a 2027 rematch — and that's the smarter play anyway
Right Then — Two Champions, One Date, One Problem
Right then. Jaime Munguia got his hand raised at the T-Mobile on Saturday with scores so wide it didn't really matter who you'd written down — 120-108, 119-109, 117-111. New WBA super middleweight champ. Cinco de Mayo weekend gift, neatly wrapped. Canelo Alvarez was ringside and on the mic afterwards Canelo invited Munguia to join his September 12 Riyadh card. Munguia said yes. Brilliant. Job done. Big rematch on its way.
Except. The reporting that's been kicking around for the last fortnight says Christian Mbilli is the one who already has the September 12 contract — for the WBC super middleweight title against Canelo. Coppinger called it a done deal weeks ago. Boxing Scene have run the same story. So we now have two champions both told they're on Canelo's biggest night of 2026, and one set of trunks for the main event.
Let's Not Beat Around The Bush
Make no mistake. The September 12 main event is Canelo vs Mbilli. That's the contract. That's the WBC mandatory. Mbilli has waited his turn, won eliminator after eliminator, and Turki Alalshikh has wanted him on a Riyadh main event for two years. Munguia's "yes, I'm in" doesn't displace any of that. It's a co-feature pitch dressed up as a main-event commitment.
Now — that doesn't mean Munguia gets nothing out of Saturday. He gets a strap, a rematch narrative, a second crack at Canelo within twelve months, and a stage on the biggest single Mexican boxing night of the year as the chief support. That's not nothing. That's a brilliantly engineered career restart for a fighter who'd been written off by the same crowd six months ago.
The Mbilli Side Of It
Mbilli is the bit nobody's talking about loudly enough. He's been lurking at 168 for years, undefeated, sharp, properly schooled, with an underrated body attack and a finishing instinct that has always reminded me of a young Canelo himself. If he beats Canelo in Riyadh — and that's not impossible, it's a live underdog price — the entire 168 conversation rewires overnight. Munguia and the WBA he's just lifted become the biggest second-tier prize in the division.
If Canelo wins, which is still the more likely script, he gets to walk out of Riyadh with the WBC strap reclaimed, a clean rematch path against Munguia for early 2027, and the kind of cross-promotional Mexican narrative DAZN, Turki and Eddy Reynoso would all sign up for in a heartbeat.
Why Munguia's "Yes" Was Smart Anyway
Let's not be silly about this. Munguia saying yes immediately to Canelo's mic invite is excellent business even if the actual main event is Mbilli. It puts him on every boxing front page on Cinco de Mayo Sunday morning. It nails his name to Canelo's coat-tails for the build-up. And it pre-positions him as the obvious follow-up — whoever wins Riyadh, Munguia is in the conversation for the next one.
If Munguia had gone home and gone quiet, he'd be in a queue with David Benavidez, Edgar Berlanga, and any number of British 168s who'd love a cheque from Riyadh. By saying yes loudly and in public, he's pre-booked himself a spot.
The Prediction
Canelo vs Mbilli gets formally announced for September 12 in Riyadh within the next four weeks, probably alongside the Wardley vs Dubois winner being teased as a 2027 cross-over heavyweight piece. Munguia ends up either co-featured against a top-ten 168 with a Canelo-rematch clause, or he gets a stay-busy DAZN main on a Mexico City PPV in July to keep the WBA active before a Q1 2027 Canelo rematch.
Either way, Munguia is going to fight Canelo again. Just not the way Saturday night made it sound. Mbilli's the one stepping into the ring on September 12. Munguia's the one stepping into the queue. Don't sit on the fence — that's the truth of it.