Canelo takes the cards in Riyadh
Canelo Alvarez is a world champion again. Overnight in Riyadh he beat Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision and reclaimed the WBC super middleweight title, with scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110.
It was his first fight since losing to Terence Crawford about a year ago, and it ended Mbilli’s unbeaten record. The Frenchman made it ugly early. He worked in busy bursts and pushed Canelo back onto the ropes, and for a few rounds the Mexican looked like a man still shaking off the rust.
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The turn came around round six
From the sixth, Canelo started to own the exchanges. A right uppercut opened the lane for the right cross, and off the ropes he picked Mbilli apart with counters. Even a point deduction in the eighth, for a punch behind the head, did not change the direction of the fight. Later he drove Mbilli back with a right hook from the middle of the ring.
Mbilli landed a hard right in the last round. Canelo answered with a better one. Two of the three judges had it by a wide margin, and one was much closer.
Canelo struggled to put the night into words. He said he was delighted to be a world champion again, noting that he has 68 pro fights, 21 years in the sport and won his first title 16 years ago. He plans a couple of weeks off before getting back to work.
Undercard: Munguia and Espinoza hold on
Jaime Munguia kept his WBA super middleweight belt against southpaw Nikita Zon, who hurt him with a long left uppercut in the sixth before fading. Munguia rallied late and took the decision. Rafael Espinoza retained his WBO featherweight title when the ringside doctor stopped his fight with replacement opponent Ricardo Blandon in round three because of a cut over the eyelid.
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