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Andreas Hale
Canelo Alvarez will return to the ring on September 12, Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced alongside the former undisputed super middleweight champion in a video posted on X on Thursday.
“September 12 will be big fight,” Alalshikh said. “This will be the first card for Canelo Promotions.”
Canelo, 35, will headline card billed as “Mexico Against the World” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Mexican Independence Day. There is no word on who Canelo’s opponent will be or who else may be featured on the card, though Alalshikh suggested Alvarez would fight for a world title in the main event.
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 15, 2026
Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) has been sidelined following his unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford in September. He underwent elbow surgery shortly after the loss and was initially hoping to return in February. However, he’ll need additional time to recover.
The WBC, IBF and WBO super middleweight titles are vacant due to the retirement of Crawford. Jose Armando Resendiz was recently elevated to full WBA champion while Diego Pacheco and Hamzah Sheeraz are expected to square off for the WBO title.