Boxing: Canelo beats Christian Mbilli to regain the WBC title

Christian Mbilli is no longer a world champion. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday 31 October, the Frenchman lost his WBC super middleweight title to Mexico's Saúl 'Canelo' Alvarez, who won a unanimous decision. The scorecards ranged from 115-112 to 117-110 for Canelo. Unbeaten since turning professional in 2017, Mbilli suffered the first loss of his career and drops to 29-1-1.

Volume against accuracy

It was a clash of methods. Mbilli, nicknamed 'Solide', pressed forward and threw a lot: 324 punches according to statistics reported by Eurosport, with 91 landing. Canelo threw almost half as many (186) but landed 132. The Mexican was often happy to be pushed to the ropes, guard high, and counter as the Frenchman's attacks ended, most of them on his gloves.

The French federation picked out the key moments: a second round Mbilli closed with two right hands to the face, a Canelo uppercut in the seventh, a hard warning for the Frenchman in the eighth for a punch to the back of the head, and a clean left hook from the Mexican in the tenth. Neither man was knocked down. Mbilli only really let his hands go in the twelfth, too late to change the cards.

Canelo is champion again

At 36, Canelo Alvarez holds a world title again thirteen months after losing to Terence Crawford, who took his four super middleweight belts in September 2025. He had surgery on his left elbow after that fight and had not boxed since. His record moves to 64-3-2 over more than twenty years as a professional. The French federation notes he has now fought in 28 world title fights across four weight classes and has not won inside the distance since 2021.

The fight went ahead in Riyadh despite renewed conflict in Yemen. A strike attributed to the Houthis had hit the Saudi capital's King Khalid airport earlier in the month, and promoter Turki Alalshikh kept the date.

What next for Mbilli

Born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Mbilli boxed for France as an amateur up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, then turned professional in Montreal with trainer Marc Ramsay. He became interim WBC champion in June 2025 with a first-round knockout of Maciej Sulecki and was elevated to full champion in January 2026, having drawn with Lester Martinez in September 2025.

At 31, the Frenchman remains among the leading names in the division and has gained a profile no previous fight had given him, his federation says. Neither Mbilli nor his team has announced a date for his return.