Led by a stiff jab and the disciplining threat of his heavy counter shots, Canelo Alvarez returned from a 13-month layoff on Saturday to dominate Christian Mbilli in the second half of their fight and regain a piece of the super middleweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 36-year-old Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs), in his first fight since elbow surgery and the loss of his undisputed title to Terence Crawford in their superfight last September, looked like the Mexican superstar of old as he captured the WBC title via unanimous decision (115-112, 116-111, 117-110) inside Kingdom Arena. CBS Sports also scored the fight 117-110 for Alvarez.
After the fight, Alvarez was surprisingly emotional following a bout in which many critics had questioned just how much hunger remained inside of him some 21 years and 69 fights into his pro career.
"It's so difficult to explain. It's something unbelievable," Alvarez said. "This feels like my first title. Now, after 21 years as a professional, 16 years ago I won my first title and now I won that title again. I'm so proud of my team, [head trainer] Eddy and [manager Jose] 'Chepo' Reynoso. They made me who I am and the champion that I am."
For as good as Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 KOs) boxed throughout the first six rounds of what started off as a very competitive fight, his refusal to fight on the inside and take any chance offensively despite his reputation, when necessary, as a fearless brawler spoke volumes to the technical advantages and precision counter shots of Alvarez.
Not only did Alvarez appear to find his groove in Round 6 after a slow start, a huge counter right hand the following round clearly sent a message as Mbilli, a 31-year-old native of Cameroon who fights out of Montreal, was wobbled and saw his output regress from there. Once Mbilli was docked a point by referee Hector Afu in Round 8 for rabbit punching -- helped along by Alvarez's complaints, which might have swayed the decision -- Alvarez was in complete control.
"The [midfight] instructions always are correct from Eddy," Alvarez said. "It was, 'Box, do your job, move and keep the jab. Do your job and do what Canelo do and you are the best.' That's what I did."
Alvarez, who outlanded Mbilli in total punches by a margin of 158 to 117, took a few rounds to figure his opponent out as Mbilli did a good job in the early going darting in with fast combinations and exiting before he could be countered. But once Alvarez established the jab and began to walk forward, Mbilli began to rely more on quick arm punches and rarely sat down on his power shots.
For as successful as Mbilli was in routinely backing Alvarez up to the ropes, he never took the bait from his opponent to come forward and exchange at close range. It was a huge difference from the version of Mbilli who fought on the Crawford-Alvarez undercard last year against fellow unbeaten Lester Martinez when the two eschewed any notion of defense in a 10-round war – ruled a split draw – that was honored as one of the best fights of 2025.
"I knew [Mbilli] was a strong fighter and he didn't throw a lot of punches because it's difficult to throw punches with me," Alvarez said.
Mbilli opened the final round with the same lack of urgency that he showed for the majority of the fight. Even though Mbilli did leap in to land a pair of clean right crosses in the second half of Round 12, Alvarez countered with a right hand that visibly wobbled him to cap off a strong performance.
"I'm going to rest. I'm going to keep learning and working hard," Alvarez said. "Right now, I'm going to take a couple weeks off and then come back."
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday, with live results and highlights below.
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mbilli (c) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 110 |
| Alvarez | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 117 |
Strong performance from the 36-year-old Alvarez to regain a piece of the super middleweight championship with the WBC title after 13 months off and elbow surgery.
Mbilli was competitive in the first half as he picked his spots and boxed from the outside but the second half was all Alvarez with harder counter shots and a strong jab. Mbilli seemed to never recover emotionally from losing a point in Round 8 for rabbit punching.
It's now or never for Mbilli and the urgency just isn't there. Canelo is controlling this round with his jab and Mbilli appears fine with that. Good body shots from Alvarez. Good right hand from Mbilli but he doesn't follow it up. Alvarez calls him forward but Mbilli won't respond. Good defense from Alvarez before Mbilli slips home another right hand. Good counters from Alvarez to the body. Big right cross from Alvarez wobbles Mbilli late. Canelo busy until the final bell of a strong and dominant performance.
Quick jabs and body shots from Mbilli outside. Canelo counters with a right hand. Alvarez lands hard body shots as he bounces off the ropes. Mbilli has simply not tried to make this a physical inside fight. Short right hand from Mbilli. Alvarez easily punches his way out of the corner. Big counter right from Alvarez. Mbilli lands a right hand late.
Mbilli needs to hurt Canelo and be willing to take a chance or this will continue to be Canelo's night. Alvarez's defense remains on point. Mbilli is too content on the outside. Counter left hook from Alvarez. Good jabs from Canelo. Mbilli went from brawling for 10 rounds with Lester Martinez last year to treating this fight like a sparring session.
Mbilli shows some urgency with combos along the ropes. Good body shot but back comes Canelo with a hard counter. Mbilli is picking his spots to throw punches in bunches but isn't landing anything of consequence. He's not sitting down on anything big. Alvarez's punches, meanwhile, are landing with an accurate thud. Mbilli jabs to the body but that's mostly the extent of it. Alvarez counters clean with a pair of shots.
Alvarez controls with the jab and the constant threat of the uppercut. Good combo from Canelo in the center of the ring. Mbilli is throwing combos but there isn't much on them and Alvarez's defense remains strong. Mbilli lands a right to the body but eats a counter shot. This is the flow Canelo wants. Good pressure from Mbilli as he lands a clean right hand. Canelo comes immediately back with combinations. The busier Canelo gets, the easier this fight is becoming. Beautiful combination from Alvarez. Mbilli comes back to the body and lets his hands go. And Mbilli loses a point for hitting behind the head. That's potentially huge. Alvarez might have talked referee Hector Afu into that by complaining.
Stiff counter jabs from Alvarez. They brawl a bit on the inside but nothing lands significantly. Alvarez works behind the jab and this is starting to lower Mbilli's output. Good body work from Mbilli and a short right hand. Mbilli remains busy downstairs. Alvarez's counter jab is landing like a weapon. Mbilli is unwilling to stand and trade for long with Canelo and the more Alvarez becomes the aggressor, the less Mbilli does offensively. Nice combo from Canelo and he comes back with a big hook to the body. Counter uppercut from Alvarez lands big. That shot sent a message. Good body work for Canelo late. He's on a roll.
Canelo lands a pair of body shots and eats a counter left. Good pressure from Mbilli to back Canelo into the corner. Nice combo from Alvarez to create some space. Hard right hand from Mibilli as the two trade shots. Mbilli busy with flurries of multiple shots, some that are slipping through. Nice combo work from Canelo again off the ropes. Alvarez isn't jabbing much but he's very accurate when he does. Mbilli sneaks in an uppercut. Canelo still prefers to counter and isn't afraid to back up and welcome Mbilli in. Big right cross from Canelo with his back to the ropes. Mbilli is uncorking some looping shots with his right hand but Canelo sees them coming. Counter jabs from Canelo late keep Mbilli away.
Alvarez lands with a thud to the body. Good jabs from Canelo. Back comes Alvarez with a combination off the high guard of Mbilli. They trade shots on the inside. Good body work from Mbilli after Alvarez landed a pair of hooks. Both showing good hand speed. Canelo lands a lead right hook to the body. Left hand downstairs from Alvarez. This is the best way for Canelo to slow the champion down. Mbilli gets warned for hitting behind the head. Mbilli flurries along the ropes but Canelo is covering up well. Nice counter hook to the body from Canelo late.
Canelo busy early but Mbilli's defense is strong. Good pressure from Mbilli to back Canelo up to the ropes. And, once again, Mbilli doesn't hang around long enough to be countered. Alvarez is cutting off the ring but not taking the lead. He's waiting for Mbilli to make a mistake and open up. Good right hand from Alvarez. Mbilli flurries as Canelo retreats to the ropes. Even if Mbilli isn't landing clean, he's busier and that matters to many judges. Canelo lands partially with a lead uppercut. Lead left hook from Mbilli and a flurry backs Canelo into the corner. This was closer but it's Mbilli again.
Counter right hits for Mbilli. He's doing a lot of movement to make Alvarez chase. Mbilli flurries to the body with a combination. Mbilli is also not hanging around after landing. This is a much more educated fight plan for him than what he showed in the brawl with Lester Maritnez last fight. Alvarez lands a left hook to the body and counters with the right hand. Mbilli flurries along the ropes. Good defense from Canelo. Mbilli gets waved back in to the ropes by Alvarez. Lots of taunting here from Canelo but Mibilli remains smart and calm. They trade shots on the inside but good defense from both, overall. The activity from Mbilli was the difference again.
Alvarez busy with the jab. Mbilli remains incredibly tentative. He's used to forcing the action but is hesitating here. Good body shot from Mbilli. Lead left hook from Alvarez. Good pressure from Mbilli to back Alvarez up to the ropes with straight punches. Mbilli comes back again with a quick combo. Alvarez blocked some of the shots but that's a great way to bring the judges to your side. Mbilli remains the aggressor. Good jabs and a much better flow. Mbilli steps on the gas and lands again. Canelo counters with a pair of hard body shots but Mbilli's educated pressure was the difference.
Mbilli starting much slower than usual as he clearly respects the countering ability of Alvarez. Good defense from both early on. Lots of feeling out. Canelo works behind the jab. Nice job by Mbilli to corner Canelo and land to the body. Alvarez throwing a lot of lead left hooks but Mbilli's high guard is catching them. Counter jab by Alvarez. Mbilli flurries along the ropes but Canelo defends them all. Alvarez lands a combination in the closing seconds. Very slow start.
Christian Mbilli and Canelo Alvarez have entered the ring at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for tonight's headliner. Hector Afu is the referee.
Finally, the main event is up next as Alvarez, the Mexican superstar, looks to rebound from a 13-month layoff, elbow surgery and a high-profile loss to Terence Crawford as he challenges Mbilli, a native of Cameroon who fights out of Montreal, ffor the WBC super middleweight title.
It's a unanimous decision for the champion as Munguia persevered through a rough Round 6 to cruise down the stretch against the more inexperienced Zon.
The two fighters go the distance. Munguia appeared to pitch a shutout over the second half immediately following a wild Round 6 in which both fighters were hurt and Munguia looked close to being stopped in what would've been a monster upset. Good work from Munguia down the stretch to rely on his skill and power against his tired opponent.
Zon needs to go for broke here. He hasn't done anything since that wild Round 6. Overhand right lands for Munguia. The champ continues to pound away to the body inside. Both fighters are tired and the action is becoming sloppy. Good left hand from Munguia. Lead right hook hits for Zon but Munguia counters clean. Lots of holding down the stretch.
Zon's only real chance is to lure Munguia back into a brawl but it's Munguia who backs him up with shots early. Good body work from the champion. Nice combo from Zon but there wasn't much on his punches. Munguia comes back with a combo of his own to back Zon up. Zon looks exhausted.
Zon comes out aggressive and lands a flurry of shots catching Munguia on the way in. Munguia goes back to work with the jab. They trade body shots on the inside but the pace continues to slow. Munguia goes down but it's ruled a push. Munguia counters off the ropes with a hook. Zon is just not busy enough here to take over. Munguia does the minimum to keep cruising.
Munguia works behind the stiff jab. Back comes Zon with a straight left. Munguia answers with a pair of right hands on the inside. The pace has slowed a bit more. Big right hand from Munguia backs Zon up and forces him to clinch. Zon shakes it off and begins to back Munguia up to the corner. They trade hooks on the inside. Nice combo from Zon.
Munguia landed a right hand but Zon came back with a shot to the body. Zon continued to have his pressure and output drop round after round. Zon did have a nice moment trapping Munguia against the ropes. Both men landed good shots simultaneously but Zon appeared to get the worst of the exchange. Munguia went to the body with a pair of shots.
Zon definitely looked a bit fatigued early in the round, though Munguia wasn't looking too fresh himself. Munguia landed a hard right hand and tried to follow with two more, though he missed both. Munguia went down to the body with a hard left hand. Munguia was clearly more comfortable coming forward this round, with Zon not pressing as hard to get Munguia going backward. A good, stabalizing round for Munguia.
Munguia started to jab a bit more early in the round and Zon looked a bit more gunshy after being so badly rocked in the previous round. Zon landed a huge uppercut that badly rocked Munguia. Munguia tried to punch back but Zon landed a right that buzzed Munguia again. Munguia appeared to go down but the referee called it a slip. Zon continued to come forward and land big shots as Munguia covered against the ropes. Munguia kept trying to fire back but Zon pressured relentlessly. Munguia survived and started to land big shots in return, hurting Zon, who may have punched himself out going for the finish. Munguia landed a huge flurry late in the round. Zon had the fight so close to over before Munguia stormed back.
Munguia let Zon walk forward again early, seeming like he wanted to set a trap to counter. Munguia landed a good right hand when he switched up and came forward for a moment. Zon kept Munguia against the ropes, but Munguia didn't really have the moments that stole the earlier rounds in this frame until a massive right hand in final 20 seconds had Zon looking ready to go. Zon kept wandering around before the bell, seemingly thinking the round was over. The one huge moment likely stole another round for Munguia.
Zon landed a few more of his awkward combinations while walking forward. Munguia isn't fighting a great fight, even if I have him ahead, he's still sitting back too much and it could impress the judges that Zon is so confident that he keeps walking forward. In the final minute of the round, Munguia landed a big combination that bothered Zon. A huge jab hurt Zon and a right hand came right behind it. When Munguia throws, it's not a close fight, when he doesn't, Zon is able to use his awkward and ugly style to get a little bit going.
Munguia went back to the body hard early and then used that to set up a hard right hand counter to Zon's jaw. Zon has shown a solid chin through three rounds, but he's not the man landing the better punches. Even when Zon lands, they're arm punches that are somewhat pushed more than thrown with a solid base and power. Munguia landed a nice left hook off of a bit of footwork. Zon had a good moment with an uppercut in the corner. Still, it feels like Munguia's best moments are just significantly better than anything Zon manages in any round.
Zon continued to press forward and bend the rules as far as he could. Those tactics were mildly effective, and may have been even more effective were he a better puncher. Munguia had some solid success by digging to the body, which seemed to bother Zon a bit. Zon's style was most effective at keeping Munguia from getting comfortable enough to sit down on flurries of punches. Munguia did land a hard straight right hand counter late in the round before just missing with an uppercut and a hook. Munguia closed the round with another strong flurry.
Zon fought an ugly, dirty first round. His punches were pushed more than thrown but he resorted to some underhanded tactics to try and dirty things up and make Munguia uncomfortable. Munguia landed the better shots, including a pair of left hooks that seemed to rattle Zon a little bit.
