Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez reminded the boxing world he remains a force to be reckoned with after defeating Christian Mbilli to reclaim the WBC super middleweight title in Riyadh.

The fight marked Canelo's return to the ring following his loss to Terence Crawford in September last year, where he lost the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles.

Crawford retired from boxing in December 2025, allowing Mbilli, the WBC super middlweight interim champion, to inherit the full title and set up the clash with Canelo.

Coming into the fight unbeaten, Mbilli made an energetic start, keeping busy though largely unbothering his opponent. His task was made harder when docked points for hits to the back of the head.

Canelo was able to counter throughout, landing the heavier shots, including a particularly punishing uppercut in the seventh, proving too slick for Mbilli, who was handed his very first defeat by way of the judges' scorecards.

Judges' Scorecards For Canelo vs Mbilli

The judges were unanimous in their verdicts, but there was some variation in just how comfortable they deemed Canelo's victory to be.

Judge Barry Lindenmann scored it 115-112, Guido Cavalleri favoured Canelo 116-111, while Jorge Gorini returned the largest margin with a scorecard of 117-110 in the Mexican's favour.

The middle rounds especially are where Canelo looked to turn the tide, with Lindemann having the fight even going into the fifth. The eighth, when Mbilli had a point docked, further helped the Mexican streak away. It robbed him, too, of another round on Cavalleri's scorecard, turning it into a 9-9.

All judges saw a late fightback from Mbilli, with him given the majority of the final four rounds on Lindemann's scorecard and half on both Cavalleri and Gorini's, which proved to be his best passage of the fight. Throughout, though, he did not do enough to convince either three judges that he was consistently winning the fight.

What Canelo Said After Defeating Mbilli

After reclaiming the WBC title, 36-year-old Canelo was very clear about what his future plans involve, after taking his record to a huge 64 wins with just three defeats and two draws.

"I'm going to rest," he said. "I'm going to keep learning. I'm going to keep working hard. And right now, I'm going to be a couple weeks off and then come back."

Still, the Mexican did not shy away from what a moment it was to get the title back after that defeat to Crawford in autumn last year, stating it felt like "my first title," showing just how much love he still has for boxing after 21 years as a professional and it being 16 years since his actual first title.

"That's why I'm here, because I still love boxing and I enjoy it a lot."