Unlike the fight with Crawford at age 38, the outcome may not be close enough for Canelo’s supporters to give him a pass. Crawford outboxed him, but Mbilli has the style to overwhelm him physically and win rounds through activity. If Canelo tires, the scoring may become increasingly one-sided.

An elbow injury was later offered as an excuse for the Crawford loss. Without a similar medical issue against Mbilli, Canelo would have a harder time dismissing another loss as anything other than evidence of decline.

Losing would also leave him with an uncomfortable decision. Canelo did not pursue a rematch after the Dmitry Bivol defeat, and many fans accepted the result as an unsuccessful move into a higher division. That same allowance would not apply against Mbilli at super middleweight.

If Mbilli wins clearly, Canelo would have to try and avenge the loss. Leaving it unanswered would invite far more criticism because there would be no size difference to excuse it.

DiBella still views Canelo as an elite force, but “one or two fights left” sounds less like a distant retirement forecast with Mbilli next. October 31 may force Canelo to decide if he has enough left to continue after a result he cannot easily dismiss.