What to Know
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Canelo Álvarez is now a three-time world super middleweight champion, defeating Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision.
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The main event of the Mexico vs the World card showed that the veteran Mexican hasn’t lost a step in his year out of the ring.
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What’s next for the man considered the face of boxing? Expect a ring return in Saudi Arabia in 2027, the final fight on Canelo’s Riyadh Season contract.
In the 70th fight of his impressive career, no monsters, boogeymen, or vampires remotely threatened Canelo Álvarez in Riyadh on Halloween.
Álvarez of Guadalajara, Mexico (64-3-2, 39 KOs) won in a decisive performance over Christian Mbilli of Montreal, Quebec, Canada (29-0-1, 24 KOs) for Mbilli’s WBC World Super Middleweight title.
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It was an adjustment hearing, “And the new!” in reference to Álvarez hearing the winning scores of 117-110, 116-111, and 115-112, with Mbilli docked a point in the eighth round for rabbit punching.
The Mexican champion has been named the winner 64 times, but after the humbling loss to Terence Crawford 13 months ago, the relief washed over his face.
“Oh, it’s so difficult to explain. It’s so difficult to explain. It’s something unbelievable. It feels like my first title,” said Álvarez, despite 21 years as a professional..
“Sixteen years ago, I won my first title. Now, I won the title again, I’m so proud, so proud of my team. Eddie Reynoso, Chepo Reynoso, who made me who I am, who made me the champion I am, thank you so much for everything, Eddie. Thank you so much, Chepo. Gracias.”
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Amid all the speculation about what might happen in this fight, Álvarez answered all the questions on the table, looking like the same veteran who disarmed Ryder, Charlo, Munguia, Berlanga and Scull before losing to Crawford. He has adjusted his game to his current strengths, not the strengths he had a decade ago. After 544 rounds in the ring, we know what to expect from Álvarez.
Álvarez uses his ability to control the pace of the fight and the real estate. He reinforced his stamina training in Spain, and he has become economical and accurate with his punches. He doesn’t waste effort throwing away shots. When he flurries, he does it to sway judges at the end of a close round.
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Álvarez still threatens opponents with his body punches and follow-up head shots, but he doesn’t need knockouts to win these days.
Mbilli built his undefeated record on his stamina, punch output, and strength. He applies pressure to force an opponent back, pinning them on the ropes. In Saturday’s fight, he didn’t follow the same game plan.
Instead, Mbilli and trainer Marc Ramsey seemed to be waiting for the older Mexican veteran to wear himself out, then stop him in the later rounds. It was a risky strategy, and it didn’t work. He let Álvarez fight at a measured pace he could maintain for 12 rounds easily.
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When Mbilli should have been pressing for knockdowns or knockout opportunities, the fight looked like a sparring session. As the fight moved into the second half, Mbilli seemed demoralized and struggled with the reality of losing his first pro fight.
Toward the last rounds, Reynoso told Álvarez he didn’t want any surprises, warning him not to take any chances.
“The instructions always are correct from Eddie, always correct,” said Álvarez. “It’s boxing. Do your job. Move. I did the job, and that’s it. Do what Canelo do. Be the best, and that’s what I did,” and the proof was the prized WBC green belt back in his hands. Álvarez joked that his wife told him not to come home unless he had the belt.
Give credit to Álvarez for successfully putting handcuffs on Mbilli’s output. Prior to Saturday’s fight, according to CompuBox data, Mbilli threw an average of 78 punches per round, 27 more than the super middleweight division average of 51, landing an average of 26.6 power punches per round, 16 more than the division average.
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But on Saturday, he only threw 56 punches per round, landing an average of ten punches per round – less than 20%.
Álvarez’s career average at super middleweight was lower coming into the fight than Mbilli’s at 35 punches per round. He exceeded this average, throwing 42 punches per round and landing just over 13 punches per round (31%). Both men threw and landed few jabs, with each landing 26 total.
It doesn’t make for a thrill ride for fans, but it gets Álvarez his victories. His devoted fans are glad to see his career continue, and everyone who cares about boxing’s health in 2027 is feeling relieved to see boxing’s biggest star looking forward to the year ahead.
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“I’m going to take a couple of weeks off, and I’m going to rest. I’m going to keep learning. I’m going to keep working hard, and I’ll come back,” said Álvarez.
Christian Mbilli and trainer Marc Ramsey will learn a lot from this fight. He knows what it’s like now to face the pressure of a title fight on a big international stage with huge expectations against a champion with more than twice his experience.
Mbilli will need to do what he can to expand the tools in his toolkit, and learn to use the skills he already has more effectively. He’ll get this opportunity at home in Canada under Eye of the Tiger, and return as an improved athlete.
