Saudi adviser and boxing matchmaker Turki Alalshikh has stated that Canelo Alvarez's fight in Riyadh will proceed this month, despite recent fatal attacks on the city's international airport. The boxing icon is scheduled to fight Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight title on 31 October at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.
According to Saudi officials, a strike on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday resulted in 13 deaths and over 300 injuries. A second attack then claimed another life and injured approximately a dozen people. These were the third and fourth strikes on the airport in the last five days, leading to its closure. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that around 60% of scheduled flights were expected to be cancelled on Monday.
The attacks have been claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. On Sunday, Turki Alalshikh posted on X, stating that Canelo had confirmed he would still fight in Riyadh in October.