Canelo Alvarez is world champion again after a unanimous decision victory over Christian Mbilli to capture the WBC super middleweight title at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Canelo got off to a good start in the first round. He didn’t engage in an all-out brawl, but he won the technical exchanges in the early going. Mbilli also let his hands go and scored on a few punches himself. It didn’t take long for Mbilli to settle in, however. He picked up the pace in the second round and showed he might be able to steal a few rounds.
Mbilli did a good job making the early rounds competitive. Canelo was unable to gain an early advantage in the fight, but he seemed to turn the tide as the fight reached the middle rounds.
Canelo opened his repertoire in the sixth round with some hard counters to the body and head.
Mbilli’s pace was an issue for much of the evening. His best bet was to assault the challenger, but he allowed Alvarez to set the tone.
Some controversy came into play on day eight. Alvarez lowered his head, but it was Mbilli who was deducted a point by the referee for hitting him on the back of the head.
It was a break Canelo didn’t really need. As the fight progressed, Alvarez’s experience and technical advantages became more evident. He walked away on the scoreboards and didn’t look back.
Mbilli had a disappointing performance, but it appears he may have suffered an arm injury.
Regardless, Canelo wasn’t really pushed into the fight and ended up adding another championship performance to his resume.
Saturday was the first time we saw Canelo in the ring since his loss to Terence Crawford in September 2025. Crawford won the undisputed titles, but was stripped of one and gave up the rest upon retirement.
This opened the door for Alvarez to once again win a championship that was familiar to him for much of his career.
It also raises the question of what’s next for him. He is 36 years old with 69 professional fights under his belt. Talk of retirement is bound to creep in after every fight he has over the next few years.
To hear him tell it, though, he still has a few big appearances left in him. He knows he doesn’t have many years left, but he’s also comfortable with what he’s accomplished in the sport.
“If it was up to me, it would never be enough. But I think four or five more fights would be enough. I’ve already done everything I need to do in boxing. I’ve done more than I ever thought I would,” he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Alvarez still clearly has the potential to generate big money. He reportedly earned $47 million from the fight while Mbilli received $9 million.
There are still interesting fights for him. A rematch against Dmitry Bivol would be a huge draw for the sport. Canelo failed to win the light heavyweight title in 2022, but Bivol still holds those titles with recent wins over Artur Beterbiev and Michael Eifert.
Regardless, fans should enjoy Canelo’s fights while they still can and he fights at a championship level.
Gn sports
