Why Isn’t Lester Martinez Fighting for the WBC Title on Saturday?

BoxingScene’s super-middleweight rankings, updated October 25, list two men as the WBC champion at 168 pounds: Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez (interim). Only one of them, Christian Mbilli, defends that title in Riyadh on Saturday, against Canelo Alvarez.

Saturday’s fight is at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, on the card billed as Mexico vs The World, and it’s on DAZN pay-per-view. DAZN lists its coverage from 1 p.m. ET, with the ring walks around 4:30 p.m. ET, and the price at $79.99 in the United States and £24.99 in Britain, with DAZN Ultimate subscribers covered. Alvarez arrived in Riyadh on Monday, told Reuters, “I feel great,” and said his body needed “that kind of rest.”

Mbilli and Martinez last met on September 13, 2025, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on the undercard of Alvarez’s loss to Terence Crawford. Their ten rounds ended a split draw, 96-94 for Mbilli, 97-93 for Martinez, 95-95, and the WBC ordered a rematch. The rematch never happened.

The WBC stripped Crawford of its belt in a dispute over sanctioning fees, and Crawford retired that December. The WBC had ordered Hamzah Sheeraz to fight Mbilli for the vacant belt, but Sheeraz took the WBO option instead, a vacant-title fight against Diego Pacheco that went to a January 19 purse bid. On January 27, the WBC elevated Mbilli from interim to full champion, so Mbilli took the full title without fighting for the vacant belt.

On March 21, 2026, at San Bernardino, Martinez beat Immanuwel Aleem by unanimous decision, 120-108, 118-110, 119-109, for the vacant interim title, becoming the first Guatemalan to hold a world title at super middleweight. On August 29, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, he stopped Luka Plantic in the tenth round to defend it, and his record stands at 21 wins, no losses and one draw, with 17 knockouts.

After the Plantic win, Martinez said: “No, look, at the end of the day, I’ve said it before: the second fight [with Mbilli] will happen, possibly next year or the year after. But either one of those fights makes sense for us.” Boxing Wire reported in August that the WBC has mandated the winner of Saturday’s fight to defend against Martinez next. The same report has his trainer, Brian McIntyre, who trained Crawford, backing Martinez against either man.

Both men have been out of the ring for 413 days, since that September night in Las Vegas. Neither man has fought since. Alvarez, 36, had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow the following month and prepared for this fight in Spain, working with Oleksandr Usyk’s team, and he has not stopped an opponent since Caleb Plant in November 2021. Mbilli, 31, told DAZN: “I’m hungrier than him. I think that’s the difference between us.”

On October 10, an attack on King Khalid International Airport killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, according to the BBC. On October 23, the State Department raised Saudi Arabia to Level 3 and ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave, and on October 27 the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three ballistic missiles and four drones headed toward the kingdom’s eastern and southern regions. A later attack on Dammam’s King Fahd airport killed two people and injured eight, and King Khalid airport has only partially reopened. Three other Saudi events were postponed or rescheduled: the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition, the PIF Saudi International golf tournament, and Al Nassr’s AFC Champions League Elite match against Al Wasl.

The promotion’s Monday card left Delgado off it. Lindolfo Delgado stayed in the United States rather than travel for a vacant IBF super-lightweight title fight against Arthur Biyarslanov, who is already in Riyadh, and the bout is gone from the card. Rafael Espinoza defends his WBO featherweight title against Ricardo Blandon instead of Lorenzo Parra, whose participation the WBO says wasn’t authorized by the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission. Jaime Munguia defends his WBA super-middleweight title against Nikita Zon, and David Picasso meets Carl Jammes Martin at super bantamweight.

Osleys Iglesias holds the IBF belt at 168 pounds, and he has already called for the winner. “I hope the winner [of Canelo-Mbilli] faces me,” he said after his latest stoppage. “I’d like my next fight to be a unification.”