Canelo is champion again: Alvarez outpoints Mbilli in Riyadh

Canelo Alvarez is a world champion again.

The 36-year-old beat Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision at The Venue in Riyadh on Saturday night to win the WBC super middleweight title. The judges scored it 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

It was Canelo's first fight in more than a year, after losing to Terence Crawford in September 2025 and having elbow surgery. It was also the first loss of Mbilli's career.

HOW IT WENT

Mbilli made it hard early. He pressed Canelo to the ropes and had his best rounds in the third and fourth, and some ringside cards had it even after four.

Then Canelo took over. He started landing counters in the sixth and seventh, and a right uppercut late in the seventh was the cleanest punch of the fight. In the eighth Mbilli lost a point for hitting Canelo behind the head, after Canelo complained it had happened several times. "It was three times," he told the referee.

Mbilli kept trying in the championship rounds, but Canelo was in control, and a right hand in the final minute wobbled Mbilli.

WHAT'S NEXT

Canelo is now 64-3-2 with 39 knockouts. He says he wants four or five more fights, two more in Riyadh and the last one in Mexico, and that his next fight could come as soon as February. Mbilli drops to 29-1-1.