Saul "Canelo" Alvarez may not be worried about fighting in Saudi Arabia later this month, but that is certainly not the case for everyone on the card.
Safety concerns in the Kingdom are mounting after numerous attacks by militant organization Ansar Allah, otherwise known as the Houthis. They have been bombing airports, oil fields, and the East-West pipeline in recent weeks in Riyadh, significantly disrupting the country.
Numerous events have been postponed or canceled, including the annual "Six Kings Slam" tennis tournament. Countries, including the U.S., are advising against travel to the kingdom.
Despite all of this, Alvarez's Oct. 31 date in Riyadh with Christian Mbill for the WBC super middleweight title remains intact. Fight financier Turki Alalshikh stated that the Mexican superstar is still willing to go ahead with the fight and that he "fears nothing."
Industry insiders have openly speculated that Alvarez and Saudi Arabia's SELA are in a standoff because if the Saudis were to pull the plug on the event, they would still be responsible for Alvarez's purse, and if Alvarez were to withdraw, he would not be paid — and it could affect his lucrative four-fight deal with Alalshikh, which has two bouts remaining.
Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez's former promoter and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, has voiced his frustration with Alalshikh's desire to carry on with the event and, in his words, allow an "enormous safety concern" to proceed in a social media video posted Thursday.
Robert Garcia, the trainer of Lindolfo Delgado, who challenges Artur Biyarslanov for the vacant IBF super lightweight title on the Canelo-Mbilli undercard, is the first person involved with the show to publicly state his fears over his safety in Saudi Arabia.
"I did see [De La Hoya's video], and I think he's right," Garcia told reporter Elie Seckbach.
"Didn't they already cancel a tennis [tournament]? There's no flights going over there. The airport is being bombed. How the f***? Do they expect us to f***ing go comfortable like nothing? Canelo and his team and the undercard [fighters on Team Canelo are fine].
“[Jaime] Munguia is fine. ‘Divino’ [Rafael Espinoza] is fine. They'll f***ing fly private. They'll go into a private airport where nobody knows where they're at. They'll have security driving them to the arena."
Garcia reiterated that Alvarez is not concerned about his safety because he will be able to fly privately into the country and have around-the-clock security, but that may not be the case for everyone else on the card.
"No, we're not [flying to a private airport]," Garcia insisted. "We're going to the f***ing airport that's being bombed. F*** that. ... It's closed? Even worse. We can't even get there."
"Canelo's fight might happen because, like I told you, he's secured. Not us. We're not secured. ... If they tell us, 'You guys are all traveling together,' then we're fine, but I don't think that's the case."