While Mbilli mustered shoeshine attacks without much mustard on his punches, Alvarez banked rounds by pounding him with the flashier, harder-hitting combinations off his back foot. Alvarez appeared to control the clash from the fifth round onward and seemingly won while in cruise control.

CompuBox credited Alvarez with landing 158 of 315 shots, 41 more than Mbilli (117 of 344). The judges awarded the Mexican superstar the win by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

The victory against Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 KOs) was a much-needed one for Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs), who shared a rare moment of relief and post-fight excitement by screaming in victory, kissing the WBC belt he just won and delivering a big hug and a kiss to career-long coach Eddy Reynoso.

Alvarez — a former junior middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight champion, two-time undisputed super middleweight champ and one-time pound-for-pound king — fought for the first time in 13 months. He hadn’t boxed since he lost a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in September 2025.

Alvarez, 36, has been calling for a rematch against Crawford ever since, but the 39-year-old retired in December and doesn't appear to have any plans to come back following a career-best win against a fellow generational great.

“Let’s hope [that Crawford comes out of retirement],” Alvarez told FightHubTV in Spanish following the win before he went to his dressing room. “To be honest, we’d love to have that rematch, as I’ve said. And if not, well, we’ll just carry on with our careers. But hopefully that fight will happen.”

Crawford acknowledged Alvarez’s win on X by saying “congrats,” along with posting clapping hand emojis.

Turki Alalshikh, The Ring owner who put together financing for Canelo-Crawford, posed for a picture with Alvarez during his post-fight celebration and stated, “Crawford, Crawford.”

Reynoso, who also manages Alvarez, is also keen on a sequel against the Omaha, Nebraska, native.

“Whoever comes next, I’d like it to be Crawford,” Reynoso said. “We’ll see what happens next.”

Alvarez plans on returning in February. Three of the most palatable possible opponents would be IBF champion Osleys Iglesias, ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 168 pounds, as well as top contenders WBC interim titleholder Lester Martinez (rated No. 4 by The Ring) and Hamzah Sheeraz (ninth). Alvarez is the No. 1 contender for The Ring’s vacant championship.

“Right now it’s time to enjoy the moment,” Reynoso said. “To be honest, I was absolutely delighted to win this title after everything that’d been said, after everything that happened in the last fight. I think we’ve made it clear that Saul is a top-class fighter. He proved it and put in a brilliant performance in the ring.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan