Paulie Malignaggi believes one man’s sheer intensity and work rate will prove decisive when Canelo Alvarez squares off with Christian Mbilli.

Their super-middleweight encounter is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 31, with Canelo citing family matters as the reason for its postponement from September 12.

Yet still, the Mexican is entering a WBC title shot after losing his undisputed crown to Terence Crawford, who emerged with a unanimous decision victory last September.

‘Bud’ then vacated his four belts after announcing his retirement in December, allowing Mbilli to be elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion at 168lbs.

The Frenchman had defended his interim title with a 10-round draw against Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Crawford undercard, producing a performance that perfectly reflected his high-volume style.

With over a year of inactivity, though, it remains to be seen whether Mbilli will be equally relentless against Alvarez, who appears to be nearing the end of the road.

But despite losing to Crawford, the 36-year-old arguably delivered his most impressive performance in a good few years, perhaps suggesting that he is not quite over the hill.

According to a FightHype interview with former world champion Malignaggi, however, Canelo’s decorated career could finally come to an end against Mbilli, despite him being a strong favourite to win with the bookmakers.

“I don’t think he’s going to beat Mbilli, because I think Mbilli brings too much of a pace and one thing Canelo hates is a [high] pace.

“God forbid he beats Mbilli, he’ll trap that [WBC] belt again. [He won’t] give any of the good fighters a shot at it.

“You’ve just gotta move on, dude. You had your career – it was a good career, congratulations – now get the hell out of here.

“Look how the super-middleweight division has blossomed since this guy got beat [by Crawford].”

Advertisement

The remaining champions at 168lbs include Hamzah Sheeraz, Osleys Iglesias and Jaime Munguia, who respectively hold the WBO, IBF and WBA belts.

Fifa has scrapped its plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors, after widespread backlash and threats of a boycott.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino proposed the controversial plan in July, declaring that a vote would determine whether or not it would go ahead, but there was anger and concern from many voices in the footballing world.

European football’s governing body Uefa even confirmed a boycott of the World Cup and other Fifa competitions, saying its member nations would not take part if Infantino’s plan was voted through.

The Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, which represents 41 nations from North and Central America and the Caribbean, backed Uefa in their stance.

Despite Fifa hitting back in a statement that insisted “nobody is selling football”, the sport’s world governing body ultimately backed down.

A statement from Infantino read: “The Fifa Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our Fifa Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.

“And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the Fifa Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the Fifa Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.

“Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.

“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”

Pro Bowl offensive lineman Andrus Peat announced his retirement in a social media post Friday.

Peat, 32, played in the NFL for 11 seasons after being selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Stanford by the New Orleans Saints.

“11 years in the league, I gave it everything I had. I may be walking away from football, but not from the lessons it taught me. Thank you to my coaches, teammates, and especially my brothers in the trenches. I’m grateful beyond words that I was able to live out this dream,” Peat wrote in his caption on Instagram.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

New Orleans Saints guard Andrus Peat stands after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Nov. 27, 2022. (USA TODAY Sports)

“On to the next chapter with my wife and sons. All glory to God!”

Peat spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Saints, primarily as their starting left guard. He made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons, from 2018 to 2020.

Peat was a key part of the Saints’ offensive line when the team won four straight NFC South titles from 2017 to 2020.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

New Orleans Saints guard Andrus Peat (75) during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Nov. 27, 2022. (USA TODAY Sports)

Peat left the Saints following the 2023 season and joined the Las Vegas Raiders as veteran depth on the offensive line. He played in 15 games with the Raiders, starting just one.

After one season with the Raiders, he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similar backup role, appearing in six games and starting three.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

New Orleans Saints guard Andrus Peat blocks Chicago Bears defensive end Yannick Ngakoue during the second half at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Nov. 5, 2023. (USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)

Peat’s wife, Ashley, posted a touching comment under his post.

“We are SO proud of you baby!!!! Thank you for everything you sacrificed and worked so hard to provide for us all these years. Can’t wait to enjoy this next chapter with you,” she wrote with three heart emojis.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

There has been a concerning update regarding a popular WWE star and their injury situation. The promotion is set for SummerSlam 2026 this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.

The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Austin Theory battled Dragon Lee and Je’Von Evans earlier this month on WWE RAW. The Vision emerged victorious, and Dragon Lee suffered a thumb injury during the match.

Speaking on NotSam Wrestling, Lee shared a concerning update about his injury. The popular star noted that if he required surgery, he could miss 3-4 months of action, but he was hoping that would not be the case.

“I don’t know how long I will be out, but I don’t want to get surgery because if I get surgery, I’ll be out for 3-4 months, and I don’t want that,” he said.

The veteran also shared that he was told that he could “probably wrestle” with the injury and was hoping that the promotion would let him do so.

“They told me with this injury I can probably wrestle. Hopefully they will let me wrestle,” he added. (H/T: Ringside News)

Dragon Lee has been appearing on both RAW and AAA in recent months for the company. The 31-year-old captured the World Tag Team Championships alongside AJ Styles last year. Styles retired from in-ring competition following his loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026.

Dragon Lee comments on teaming up with AJ Styles in WWE

WWE RAW star Dragon Lee recently opened up about getting the opportunity to be in a tag team with AJ Styles.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on the INSIGHT podcast, Lee stated that he was honored to work with Styles during his final run and that he was proud of himself.

“I feel honored to be part of his last matches, and even John Cena’s last match [event], I was part of that too. I feel like you know so many things that I’m proud of myself, you know, because if you’re not, if you don’t recognize yourself, who else will? You just look at the mirror and say, ‘You’re doing well, keep working. I’m proud of you, brother. Keep working.’ My family, that’s it, that’s all the energy I need.” said Lee [H/T: INSIGHT]

It will be interesting to see what WWE has planned for Dragon Lee moving forward.