Canelo Alvarez wins by unanimous decision over Christian Mbilli - ESPN

Canelo Alvarez looked very much like Canelo Alvarez on Saturday, despite more than a year away from the ring, elbow surgery and a disappointing loss to Terence Crawford his last time out.

Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs) reclaimed the WBC super middleweight championship with a dominant performance over Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. He systematically neutralized Mbilli's entire offense en route to judges' scorecards of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112. The Mexican superstar characterized his own performance as «perfect,» and he was visibly moved after reclaiming one of the 168-pound belts he lost to Crawford in September 2025.

«It's so difficult to explain,» Alvarez said of his postfight emotions. «It's something unbelievable, this feeling. Like my first title. Thirty-one years as a professional. Sixteen years ago, I won my first title. Now, I won the title again. I'm so proud.»

Alvarez, 36, faced the most questions of his storied career, and he responded with a composed, defensively brilliant fight against an undefeated champion whose goal was to attack early. Mbilli moved forward throughout the 12 rounds but appeared demoralized and out of ideas by the seventh round. According to CompuBox, Alvarez landed 132 power punches to Mbilli's 99. Alvarez praised head coach Eddy Reynoso for the team's clean game plan and execution.

«The structure is always correct from Eddy,» Alvarez said. «Do our job. Move, hit the jab, do what Canelo does best. I knew [Mbilli] was a strong fighter. If he didn't throw a lot of punches, it's because it's difficult to throw punches with me.»

Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 KOs) looked to impose pressure on Alvarez but never succeeded in making him uncomfortable. In the third round, Alvarez even