Canelo Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs) made his long-awaited return to the ring on Saturday night after a 13-month layoff to challenge WBC super middleweight titlist Christian Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 KOs) at The Venue in Riyadh.
Canelo looked revitalized against an opponent who was willing to mix it up and had quick hands, making for an entertaining fight.
While Mbilli was aggressive in his approach, it worked well into Canelo’s strategy of counter-punching and and going to the body.
Using his jabs and counters, Canelo picked up the pace in the second half of the fight and was in command of the action, keeping Mbilling on his heels.
Final scores were 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110.
