Counters and defense carry Alvarez
The judges scored the fight 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110 for Alvarez, who was competing without a world title for the first time since 2015. The 36-year-old Mexican had lost his belts to Terance Crawford just over a year earlier, prompting questions from pundits about whether his skills were fading.
Instead, the four-weight world champion secured his 64th victory in his 69th professional appearance. The Associated Press reported his record as 64-3-2 and Mbilli's as 29-1-1. It was the 31-year-old Mbilli's first defeat in 31 fights.
Born in Cameroon and training in Canada, Mbilli was defending the WBC championship for the first time since being elevated to champion in January. He opened aggressively, throwing punches at Alvarez along the ropes. Alvarez shook his head at the blows and encouraged him to keep coming, looking for openings to counter.
Mbilli maintained the higher output, but Alvarez delivered the more forceful punches. Two right uppercuts connected in the sixth round, and Alvarez continued to punish Mbilli's advances over the following rounds. Referee Hector Afu later took a point from Mbilli for punching Alvarez behind the head, according to AP.
Alvarez's timing and defense kept him in control through the finish. Mbilli connected with two sharp right hands late in the contest but could not change its course.
Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk watched from ringside after helping Alvarez prepare for the bout, Marca reported. The result extended Alvarez's run of unanimous decisions to nine fights since May 7, 2022, including two losses. His last knockout remains his stoppage of Caleb Plant on November 6, 2021.
Fight proceeds amid security concerns
The event went ahead despite concerns in recent weeks over safety as the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement grew. The Saudi Press Agency reported two days before the bout that Civil Defence had intercepted two ballistic missiles above Riyadh.
Earlier in October, 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Several other Saudi sporting events were canceled, among them the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition, the 2026 World Rally Championship's final round and the 2026 Urban Cycling World Championships. Combat sports have not followed those cancellations.
Munguia and Espinoza retain their belts
On the same card, Jaime Munguia recovered after Nikita Zon hurt him in the sixth round and kept his WBA super-middleweight championship. His unanimous-decision victory came by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112, taking his record to 47-2.
Rafael Espinoza also made a successful title defense, stopping Ricardo Blandon at 1:22 of round three to retain the WBO featherweight belt. The technical knockout brought Espinoza to 29-0, with 25 knockouts.
Alvarez credits his team and plans a short break
Afterward, Alvarez credited trainer Eddy Reynoso with telling him to move, box and continue working behind the jab, AP reported. He also delivered an emotional tribute to Eddy and Chepo Reynoso.
"It's so difficult to explain," Alvarez said. "It's something unbelievable, this feeling. Like my first title. Thirty-one years as a professional. Sixteen years ago, I won my first title. Now, I won the title again. I'm so proud."
Alvarez did not identify a preferred opponent in his post-fight interview, but indicated that he intended to resume training soon.
"I'm going to rest. I'm going to keep learning. I'm going to keep working hard," he said. "And right now I'm going to be a couple of weeks off and then come back."
