Christian Mbilli kept coming, but Canelo Álvarez kept finding the cleaner punches, reclaiming the WBC super middleweight title by unanimous decision on Saturday in Riyadh. Canelo (64-3-2) turned the champion’s aggression into counterpunching opportunities during his first appearance since losing to Terence Crawford thirteen months earlier.

Scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110 rewarded Canelo’s accuracy over Mbilli’s greater activity. Mbilli (29-1-1) had stretches of success, particularly when he kept Canelo near the ropes, but could not consistently land the power shots needed to make that pressure decisive.

The difficulty for Mbilli was apparent early. He advanced and threw combinations, yet too many punches met Canelo’s gloves or missed. Canelo worked behind his jab and answered through the openings, making shorter attacks count against the busier fighter.

Mbilli’s fourth and sixth rounds showed a more effective approach. Sustained offense reduced Canelo’s opportunities to choose his counters and forced him to spend longer defending. Those rounds demonstrated that Mbilli could compete when his pressure came with enough scoring punches.

Canelo interrupted that progress in the seventh. His jab slowed Mbilli’s approach, and a sharp right uppercut punished the champion as he moved in. Body shots and right hands gave Mbilli further reasons to hesitate.

An eighth-round point deduction from referee Hector Afu made the challenger’s task easier. Mbilli continued pushing afterward and enjoyed productive spells in the ninth and tenth, but needed a stronger finish to erase the deficit.

Instead, Canelo took the closing rounds with selective, accurate offense. Mbilli could not force a late crisis, and neither fighter scored a knockdown across the twelve rounds.

Canelo’s return produced another distance fight rather than the stoppage some had predicted. It also exposed the limit of Mbilli’s approach: getting close was only the first part of the job, and Canelo too often made him miss before landing the better reply.

00:31

Canelo is fighting NEXT! 🤩

DAZN Boxing · 2 hours ago

00:34

Usyk is TEAM CANELO and taking time to hang out with the fans! 👋

DAZN Boxing · 3 hours ago

00:06

The STARS are coming out to watch Canelo vs Mbilli! ✨

DAZN Boxing · 3 hours ago