Atleti and Barça, a duel with a League and Champions flavor

Canelo Álvarez changes the date of his next fight

Mexican boxer Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez delayed his fight against Christian Mbilli, initially scheduled for September 12 in Saudi Arabia. The new date will be October 31, the boxer reported.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Álvarez explained that the decision responded to family issues that he had to resolve before concentrating on training.

“There were some problems with my family that I had to fix, but everything is fine now… I was not ready to go to camp, that’s why I postponed the fight, because I had to take care of the family first,” he declared.

The fight will be for the World Boxing Council super middleweight title, a category where Mbilli is the current champion. The fight will mark Álvarez’s return to the ring after his loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.

The weekend of October 31 coincides with the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix and the Day of the Dead celebrations, which adds an additional attraction for the Mexican public.

Canelo assured that he is now ready to train and that the postponement will not affect his preparation. “I was always very disciplined and organized,” he added.

Inter Miami announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Casemiro. The MLS began an investigation to determine whether the club engaged in improper negotiation.

Investigation for possible manipulation

Casemiro’s discovery rights belonged to the LA Galaxy. According to the rules, that prevented Inter Miami from negotiating with him without authorization. Both teams reached an agreement that allowed the signing, but the league continues to investigate.

“The league is gathering all relevant information and will refrain from further comment until the review is complete,” MLS said. “Although Inter Miami and LA Galaxy have reached an agreement for the discovery priority of signing Casemiro, the terms will be published upon conclusion of the manipulation investigation.”

Casemiro, 34, appeared in all five of Brazil’s games at this year’s World Cup and scored one goal. His contract with Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2027 “sprint” season, with an option to extend until June 2029.

Statements upon arrival

The Brazilian expressed his motivation: > “What motivates me the most, and I think this is true for any player, is winning and continuing to grow. The project that the club presented to me, along with the effort that everyone made to bring me here, means a lot to me.”

David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami, highlighted: > “He is a winner who has achieved a lot in football and, after such an extraordinary career with Real Madrid and Manchester United, I am very happy that he has decided to make Miami his new home.”

Casemiro spent the last four seasons at Manchester United. Before, most of his professional career was spent at Real Madrid, where he won five Champions Leagues. It is still not known when he will debut with Lionel Messi’s team; The club is waiting for the necessary visa.

Beginning in early 2027, MLS will have an abbreviated 14-game regular season before aligning with international schedules. Each of the 30 teams will play seven home games and seven away games, only against rivals from the same conference.

The Apertura 2026 table of Liga MX had its first strong movements after the two early games of Matchday 2.

The movements at the top

Cruz Azul is the absolute leader with six points, the only ones in the tournament with a perfect pace. La Maquina beat Puebla 2-1 at the Banorte Stadium and has five goals in favor against three against.

Pachuca, Tijuana, Atlas, Toluca, Monterrey, Necaxa, América, Puebla and Pumas follow with three units —although several have a game pending. Puebla fell to ninth place; Pumas rose to tenth after its first victory.

University comeback

The surprise of the date came at Nemesio Díez. Toluca took the lead in the 14th minute with a goal from Jorge Díaz, assisted by Helinho. But in the second half, the Auriazules reacted: Víctor Arteaga tied it in the 57th with a left-footed shot, and seven minutes later Sebastián Córdova headed in a cross from Rodrigo López to turn the score around.

Keylor Navas was a figure in maintaining the advantage with key saves. Toluca was left with three points and its first setback.

The other advance

Cruz Azul suffered against Puebla. Fernando Monárrez opened the scoring for La Franja; Luka Romero equalized. When everything pointed to a tie, Christian Ebere gave the capital’s victory in the final minutes.

Both duels were brought forward because Cruz Azul and Toluca will compete this weekend for the Champion of Champions.

What’s coming

Matchday 2 will continue from Friday to Sunday with Atlante-América, Tijuana-León, Guadalajara-Juárez, Santos Laguna-Atlas, Tigres-San Luis, Necaxa-Monterrey and Pachuca-Querétaro. The classification is just beginning to be defined.