Canelo Alvarez took the WBC super middleweight title once more, winning a clear, unanimous decision over Christian Mbilli in their main event from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Though Mbilli had scattered moments of success, and was hanging in there early with Canelo, the middle and late rounds strongly belonged to the veteran Canelo, who bounced back from his loss 13 months ago to Terence “Bud” Crawford by taking back a piece of the crown he lost that night.
Canelo vs Mbilli official scorecards
Canelo (64-3-3, 39 KO) won on scores of 115-112,
116-111, and 117-110 from the three ringside judges.
Bad Left Hook unofficially scored the fight 116-111 and 116-111 on two cards, both for Canelo.
The 36-year-old Alvarez never seemed in any real danger in this one, as he did the same job we’ve seen him do in victory for years now, keeping a tight defense, landing shots accurately while not throwing a lot of punches, and doing a very professional job of simply winning the fight, without much for the highlight reel.
It’s clear that Canelo is still a top-level fighter, even if he’s not who he was in his prime, and that it’s still going to take a sincere, elite-level fighter to beat him, as has been the case for his entire career.
What’s next for Canelo?
Hamzah Sheeraz seems to be the promotional house favorite to land the next Canelo bout, though WBC interim champ Lester Martinez will also hope to make the play, of course, and both were in attendance in Riyadh on Saturday.
And there will be others who want the fight — anyone that can make a weight Canelo can fight at will want the fight, in fact, as he still is the top money man in boxing’s non-heavyweight divisions, and it’s not like we’ve never seen Canelo throw a curveball for a “next fight.”
As for what Canelo said when asked, he said he would just be taking a little time off, and then return, as is normal. He named no potential opponents.
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