What to Know
- With less than ten days to go, the October 31 card featuring Canelo Álvarez vs. Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is still scheduled to go ahead even as violent attacks continue and spread.
- Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation, published next week’s Fight Week calendar.
- Trainer Robert Garcia said Wednesday he is worried about the safety of his fighter Lindolfo Delgado and his team, and has no travel arrangements in place yet.
With less than ten days before the last Riyadh Season card of the year, “Mexico vs the World,” scheduled for October 31 in Riyadh, most fighters and their teams would have traveled to Saudi Arabia to acclimate to the time zone and climate and prepare for their bouts.
But Riyadh Airport has been closed, and according to trainer Robert Garcia, who will work the corner of his welterweight challenger, Lindolfo Delgado of Mexico (24-0, 16 KOs), who will fight for the vacant IBF title against Arthur Biyarslanov (21-0, 17 KOs), a stablemate of Christian Mbilli, his travel plans are (pardon the pun) still up in the air.
Speaking on the subscription “Boxing Scene Today” show on Wednesday, Garcia said he believes the fight card will take place. But he is otherwise in the dark, a shocking development for a trainer whose fighter is expected to fight for his first world title in 10 days.
Canelo vs Mbilli Card Still Scheduled
Further cementing Garcia’s opinion is the social media accounts of Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, and RING Magazine. Both recently posted the full schedule of Fight Week Activities. It’s unclear who feels safe enough to move around and attend from a fan perspective. Fighters may appear in a closed venue and be streamed live worldwide.
All events are scheduled for 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT and will air on DAZN Boxing PPV. In addition, Alalshikh is still promoting online ticket sales, as recently as 12 hours before publication on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ordered its embassy personnel to leave Saudi Arabia and directed all non-emergency government employees and their families to leave the country. There are murmurs about additional unconfirmed evacuations.
Safety Concerns Continue to Worry Fight Teams
“They’re already announcing the grand arrivals and all that all that nice information. But I still haven’t got no flights yet. I still have no flight information. They haven’t told me anything,” said Garcia.
Conde Nast Traveler magazine, among the most respected travel news sources, reports it is not considered safe to travel to Saudi Arabia in an article on Tuesday. After being closed for more than a week, the King Khalid Airport in Riyadh resumed operations on Sunday, October 18.
This does not mean a return to normal schedules. Flights must secure prior permission from Saudi aviation authorities to land or take off. Dozens of international routes are still suspended.
Attacks continue and are spreading. Saudi authorities have targeted attacks on airports in Abha, Jazan, Najran and Dammam, as well as Saudi Aramco oil facilities.
This is cause for concern even if teams make travel arrangements that avoid major Saudi airports.
“What I was told the last couple days was that we were flying to Dubai, (and) from Dubai to some small airport near where the fights are going to be and then drive like a four-hour drive to get there,” said Garcia.
Athletes and their teams work hard to minimize anything that could throw them off their preparations and focus. Worrying about travel arrangements and personal safety doesn’t set anyone up for success.
Robert Garcia: ‘Hell No!’
“Man, I don’t want to be in the documentary 25 years from now. You know, talking about all these brave fighters that went out there and coaches and managers and trainers that went out there and never came back. Hell no! I don’t want to. I don’t,” insisted Garcia.
Despite his concerns, he is still making plans to accompany Lindolfo Delgado to Riyadh with a championship on the line, one he’s worked for his entire career.
“As of now, my team, at least my team with Lindolfo Delgado, we’ve been waiting all weekend. We don’t have no flights. We don’t have no information. So honestly, I really don’t know what’s going to happen.
Garcia said the decision boils down to Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez has apparently stood firm, insisting the card will continue. Garcia said if the undercard fighters decide to bow out at the end, he believes Alvarez, and his two stablemates Jaime Munguia and Rafael Espinosa who are all trained by Eddy Reynoso, and their opponents will be all that’s needed to make the card happen.
“That’s all they need. That’s probably why they haven’t even told us about any flights or anything. We haven’t had no information.” Garcia will be in San Antonio this week to work the corner of his featherweight prospect Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez on the Navarrete vs Foster undercard, then make his way (in theory) to the Middle East.
“I’m going to San Antonio, but at least Lindolfo and the rest of my team should have already known they’re flying out the next couple days to be there, at least one week before. We can’t be sitting waiting and thinking, ‘oh yeah, we’re just waiting for that flight. They’ll send it to us.’ They would have already. They should have already. Honestly, I don’t know. We don’t have flights yet,” said Garcia.
How Serious Is The Threat?
As I reported previously for NY Fights, the U.S. State Department and the governments of Canada and Mexico continues to warn citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to the region, including Saudi Arabia.
The fight card is currently scheduled to take place in Riyadh on October 31. DAZN Boxing will broadcast it live starting at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT with prelim fights
The U.S. State Department has active travel advisories in place for the Middle East, including a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory for Saudi Arabia, including conflict escalation, flight cancellations, and airspace closures.
A Level 3 alert is labeled “Reconsider Travel” and covers Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Isreal, and the West Bank. Details here.
The State Department cites active threats from Iranian drone and missile targeting along with attacks and threats from Houthi rebels in Yemen directed at Saudi territory, infrastructure, and American interests. Falling debris from intercepted projectiles also poses a danger. This is not the highest alert level. Level 4 is “Do Not Travel.”
It’s far too late to move the card to another venue. It’s highly doubtful it will be postponed. Funding for cards in Riyadh is somewhat in doubt. October 31 is currently the last boxing card in Riyadh on the calendar.
The main card stars, including the three Mexican A-side fighters Alvarez, Munguia, and Espinoza, and their immediate corner teams will receive VIP travel and, if necessary, military protection to enter the country safely. They need their opponents, so it would be surprising if they didn’t get security escorts.
But the rest of the undercard, like Garcia’s fighter Lindolfo Delgado, may be on their own. It’s a tough call to turn down a title fight opportunity.
On the Boxing Scene podcast, reporter Lance Pugmire said a member of the Alvarez team told him Canelo is determined to get his WBC belt back from Christian Mbilli. He also has to move forward with the fight to get paid.
“He wants to fight,” reported Pugmire. “He has told some people close to him, ‘I am willing to go to hell to get my belt back.’
“And someone responded back to Canelo. ‘I’ll see you in hell.’
Without a doubt, people are anxious, particularly if they don’t have a multi-million dollar payday on the line. But if Canelo Alvarez is going, he expects his team to join him if they want a job. guys should as well.
Veteran journalist Dan Rafael also reported on Wednesday that the DAZN on-camera broadcast team working for DAZN Boxing will call the fight from London watching a video feed, and will not travel to Saudi Arabia. Sources also indicate domestic production personnel will produce the fight broadcast, and not U.S. or Europe-based production personnel.
Álvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs), the former undisputed super middleweight champion, will be the challenger against WBC World Super Middleweight champion Christian Mbilli of Montreal (29-0-1, 24 KOs).
WBA World Super Middleweight champion Jaime Munguia of Tijuana (46-2-0, 35 KOs), will defend his title against unbeaten Russian Nikita Zon (12-0-1, 10 KOs). Zon will fight outside Russia for the first time as a professional.
WBO World Featherweight champion Rafael “Divino” Espinoza of Guadalajara (28-0, 24 KOs) takes on challenger Lorenzo Parra of Venezuela (24-1-1, 18 KOs), the division’s number-one contender.