Canelo reclaims title with vintage win over Mbilli
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez reclaimed the WBC super-middleweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Christian Mbilli in Riyadh. The victory was a strong return after Alvarez lost his belts to Terence Crawford and spent more than a year out of the ring, answering doubts about whether his abilities were fading.
The judges scored the bout 115–112, 116–111 and 117–110 for Alvarez, whose defence and counter-punching blunted Mbilli’s forward pressure. It was the 36-year-old’s 64th win in his 69th professional fight and made him a four-weight world champion again; Mbilli, 31, lost for the first time in 31 bouts. The event went ahead amid security concerns in Saudi Arabia, where other sporting events had been cancelled.
In short
- Alvarez regained the WBC super-middleweight title.
- He won by unanimous decision in Riyadh.
- Mbilli suffered his first defeat in 31 bouts.
Explained simply
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is a Mexican boxer who has won world titles in several weight divisions. Super-middleweight is a boxing category with an upper weight limit, and the WBC is one of the sport’s main organisations, which awards championship belts.
Christian Mbilli is a Cameroon-born French boxer known for pressing his opponents with sustained attacks. In boxing, judges award rounds to the fighter they consider more effective; a unanimous decision means all three judges chose the same winner. The result matters to both fighters’ records and places Alvarez back among the division’s titleholders.