It was a display of tremendous experience and maturity that allowed Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to tame an unusually hesitant Christian Mbilli and reclaim the WBC super middleweight world title. At the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, the Mexican boxer was deservedly awarded a unanimous decision by the judges, who scored the fight 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110. Mbilli therefore heads home empty-handed, perhaps with some regrets about not having tried hard enough.
The French fighter of Cameroonian descent adopted an initial strategy that, although radically different from his usual approach, proved surprisingly effective. Aware of his opponent’s extraordinary counterpunching skills and conscious of the fact that Canelo is at his most dangerous in the early rounds, Mbilli took a cautious and measured approach, only stepping on the gas during the final thirty seconds of each round in an attempt to impress the judges.
Such a restrained start probably surprised Canelo himself, as he struggled to fully settle into the fight and repeatedly invited his opponent to attack, seemingly irritated by a departure from the script he had expected to follow. The result was four fairly even rounds, in which Alvarez’s greater composure and technical completeness were counterbalanced by Mbilli’s late bursts of activity. In this writer’s opinion, it was the latter who deserved to be ahead on the scorecards after the opening third of the fight.
However, the much slower pace than anticipated in the build-up allowed Canelo to study his opponent from top to bottom, gradually figure him out and process the information he had gathered like a veritable computer. By the fifth round, the download had clearly been completed, because the challenger took control of the fight and decisively steered it in the direction he wanted.
Alvarez began taking the initiative more frequently, catching Mbilli with sharp, accurate two- and three-punch combinations before making his return fire miss. Using his left jab masterfully, the Mexican also managed to disrupt the Frenchman’s attacks before they could develop, then moving laterally to avoid being trapped against the ropes and resuming his calculated work.
The world champion’s partial response, as he tried to regain the initiative in the seventh round, was thwarted by Canelo’s spectacular uppercuts. The Mexican drove his punches upward into his opponent’s face with technically flawless execution, sending the crowd into raptures. The cameras then captured the emotional reactions of the ringside spectators, including Oleksandr Usyk, who leapt to their feet at the sight of the Mexican’s perfectly executed punches.
Things got even worse for Mbilli in the following round. After a particularly wild sequence involving a low blow and a punch to the back of the head, he was officially penalized by referee Hector Afu. The scene was actually somewhat surreal, because Canelo literally shoved the referee after being on the receiving end of the fouls, as though demanding that he do his job, before Afu obliged by deducting a point from his opponent.
The fight was now clearly heading toward a points victory for the challenger, who had corrected his course after his early uncertainty and was sailing along with the wind at his back. One might therefore have expected Christian Mbilli, having realized that he had exhausted his tactical options, to respond with fury, produce a frantic finish and demonstrate his determination to return home either with his shield or on it. But nothing of the sort happened.
Incredibly, the Frenchman continued to fight at a subdued pace, rationing his attacks and giving his talented opponent all the time and space he needed to land the cleaner punches without expending too much energy or taking too many risks. The champion’s attitude was neatly summed up by American journalist Dan Rafael, who, while providing live commentary on X, wrote after eleven rounds: “Mbilli is just happy to be here.”
Only in the final round did the intensity finally increase. Mbilli managed to find the target with his right hand and force Canelo into a few noteworthy exchanges. Too little, too late, as the saying goes. After the final bell, both fighters raised their arms in victory, but only Saul Alvarez’s celebration was justified by what had unfolded in the ring, as the announcement of the official scorecards confirmed shortly afterward.
This victory by the Mexican demonstrates that Canelo, although undoubtedly past his prime, remains a high-level fighter, capable of compensating for his declining athleticism with his vast experience and exceptional boxing IQ. Physical strength, youth and punching power alone are therefore not enough to get the better of him.
What Terence Crawford accomplished just over a year ago consequently becomes even more impressive. Bud did not merely move up two weight classes and become undisputed world champion in the fifth division of his illustrious career. He achieved that feat by dethroning a fighter who, one year later, is still capable of imposing his will at the highest level.