Canelo Alvarez Fight Still Faces VADA Testing Questions

Canelo Alvarez is supposed to challenge Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31. Ticket sales are now being promoted, but the full undercard has not been announced, and a report says the event’s VADA testing program has yet to be funded. For a Canelo pay per view only a month away, those are substantial pieces of unfinished business.

Boxing journalist Dan Rafael raised the ticket and card gaps Tuesday, before The Ring’s ticket post. He also pointed to the U.S. State Department’s September 15 advisory urging Americans to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia because of risks that include Iranian drone and missile attacks. The warning does not prohibit travel, but fans traveling to Riyadh still have limited time to arrange flights and hotels.

Canelo has confirmed October 31, DAZN has promoted the matchup, and the WBC has identified ANB Arena as the venue. The Ring’s ticket push is another concrete step toward staging the event. It does not, by itself, settle how the fighters will be tested or tell pay per view buyers what else is on the card.