A hotel lounge, not a stage
Ten in the morning in Riyadh, and the real weigh-in was over before the cameras woke up. Christian Mbilli and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez each stepped on the scales at 76 kilos this morning, inside the 76.203 kg super-middleweight limit, in a private hotel room packed with the teams of every boxer on the card.
The public ceremony still comes tonight at 9 p.m. local time, staged in an amusement park. That one is for the crowd. The one that counted was done by breakfast.
Mbilli’s trainer Samuel Décarie described the routine that followed. A cornerman went to fetch the champion from his room while Décarie held his place in line for the medical check, so he could walk straight through. Weigh-in, rehydration drinks, then food. Mbilli later went back upstairs for a nap, with VADA anti-doping testers waiting for him to wake up.
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The gloves are already a fight
Head trainer Marc Ramsay and Décarie spent the same morning at the rules meeting with the officials. Panama’s Hector Afu will referee, with Italy’s Guido Cavalleri, Argentina’s Jorge Luciano Gorini and America’s Barry Lindenman judging.
Then came the friction. Canelo wants to fight in horsehair gloves from the Mexican brand Santos, which carry little padding over the knuckles. Décarie says his camp raised objections and that Alvarez’s side did not like hearing them. The Emirati boxing commission signed off on the gloves anyway. Mbilli will wear Canadian-made Rival gloves.
What the next 36 hours look like
Décarie says Mbilli will eat again, rest, then dine just before leaving for tonight’s public weigh-in. Saturday starts with a light physical activation, a meal, more rest and an early trip to the arena. The fight is currently scheduled for 11:30 p.m. in Riyadh, 9:30 p.m. in France.
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