CANELO IS BACK: Alvarez Outclasses Mbilli to Reclaim WBC Crown in Riyadh
Thirteen months out. Elbow surgery. A loss to Terence Crawford still hanging over him. None of it mattered on Saturday night.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez regained the WBC super middleweight championship at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, beating Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision. The judges scored it 115 to 112, 116 to 111 and 117 to 110, handing the Cameroonian born, Montreal based champion the first defeat of his professional career.
Mbilli came forward all night, exactly as expected. Canelo met him with a stiff jab and the constant threat of heavy counters, and after a competitive start the 36 year old took over the second half. By the seventh round, ESPN noted, Mbilli looked out of ideas. The champion's night got worse in round eight when the referee docked him a point for repeated low blows.
The numbers backed up the eye test. According to CompuBox, Alvarez landed 132 power punches to Mbilli's 99.
Canelo described his own performance as "perfect" and credited head coach Eddy Reynoso for a clean game plan, according to ESPN. He was visibly moved after winning back one of the 168 pound belts he lost to Crawford in September 2025.
Canelo now stands at 64 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws with 39 knockouts. Mbilli falls to 29 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.
The Undercard
The "Mexico vs. The World" card delivered across the board:
- Jaime Munguia retained his WBA super middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Nikita Zon (116 to 112, 117 to 111, 117 to 111).
- Rafael Espinoza kept his WBO featherweight title, stopping late replacement Ricardo Blandon in round three.
- Reito Tsutsumi stopped Raymundo Rojas Garcia in round two.
- Carl Jammes Martin edged David Picasso by split decision.
The questions about Canelo's age, his elbow and his hunger got a loud answer in Riyadh. The king of Mexican boxing is a champion again.
Sources: AP, ESPN, CBS Sports, The Independent.
