Canelo Alvarez drops biggest retirement hint yet ahead of Christin Mbilli fight

Canelo Alvarez has teased that he could hang up the gloves following his upcoming fight against Christian Mbilli.

On October 31, boxing great Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will return to the ring to challenge for the WBC super middleweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He faces current champion Mbilli, who will defend his title for the first time after being elevated from the WBC's interim to the full world champion following Terrence Crawford's shock retirement last year.

The bout is set to be just the latest in what has been a stellar boxing career for Alvarez, with 68 fights and plenty of world titles across more than 20 years.

Having turned 36 years old this year, many have wondered if reclaiming a world title with a win over Mbilli could be the perfect way to call time on Alvarez's career.

And as the fight gets ever closer, the boxing legend appears to have suggested that his time in the sport is rapidly approaching it's end, further fuelling the speculation.

Speaking to CBS Mornings ahead of the fight, he said: "When I'm there in the gym and I take a lot of punches and then my body doesn't respond in the same way, then I know (when to retire). I'm not going to go and fight with that kind of training."

"You can see everything in the training camp, you feel everything. How your body responds."

Alvarez added that, although he feels 'good', there's 'not much left' for him to do in boxing having enjoyed such a successful career.

"I have other things to accomplish outside of boxing," Alvarez added.

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Canelo Alvarez reveals exactly how long he has left in boxing

In October last year Alvarez underwent elbow surgery, his third surgery in seven years, further raising concerns about his future.

But it appears that he's not quite down yet, as he explained his rough plans during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

Explaining why he continues to fight despite achieving financial security long ago, he said: ""[Boxing] makes me feel alive. I was born for this. I really enjoy it. It's hard to adapt yourself again [and again to different opponents], and the training camps are very hard, but I love that, and I enjoy it a lot.

"I don't need anything. ... I did everything in boxing already, and I'm good [financially]. But I still love boxing. When I fight, I always break records, and that's the motivation for me. You need to do something in life. You need to keep your mind busy, motivated. Right now, my motivation is boxing."

When asked how long he may have left, he added: "Maybe four fights more. "I'm [still] on it. I'm focused until the end. When I retire, I'm going to still do exercise and boxing and this and that, but I have other things to do, and then I'm going to focus 100% on those things.

"It's not about money...I've gotten a lot of paydays, but I still love boxing. I don't do it because I get a lot of big paydays. It's because I really still enjoy boxing. I love boxing. But there's nothing out there for me to prove, because I did everything. I accomplished pretty much everything in boxing."

Whenever Alvarez does decide to retire, he will do so recognised as one of the greatest of all time.