Canelo Alvarez WBC title victory in Riyadh
Canelo Alvarez WBC title victory in Riyadh came by unanimous decision over Christian Mbilli, reclaiming the super-middleweight championship he had previously held. The Mexican returned a year after his loss to Terence Crawford and went straight in against a previously undefeated world champion.
Mbilli pressed Alvarez through the first half of the fight, throwing in busy bursts and forcing Canelo onto the ropes. From the sixth round onwards, Alvarez began to exert increasing control of the action.
Where the fight turned
Alvarez used a right uppercut to open a path for a hard right cross. He grew more comfortable on the ropes, working with counter-punches, and his uppercut made Mbilli wary of committing.
In the eighth round Canelo finished a four-punch combination with a right to the head. Mbilli drove forward, and the referee took a point off the champion for hitting round the back of the head.
Mbilli urgently needed to shift momentum. Instead Alvarez came off the ropes to work from the centre of the ring, drilling Mbilli with his right hook.
In the final round Mbilli landed a good shot but backed off. Canelo waved him in again and Mbilli would not respond. Alvarez pressed forward, took a hard right, then blasted home an excellent right of his own.
The scorecards
Alvarez took the unanimous decision on cards of 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110.
Alvarez on winning a title again
"It's so difficult to explain. It's something unbelievable," Canelo said. "Now after 21 years as a professional, 16 years ago I won my first title, now I won the title again… I want to thank everybody back home."
He said he knew Mbilli was a strong fighter, and that the challenger did not throw a lot of punches because it is difficult to do so against him. "I did perfectly," he added.
Alvarez said he would keep learning and keep working hard, take a couple of weeks off and then come back.
Munguia survives Zon scare
Jaime Munguia weathered an almighty scare to take a unanimous decision over Nikita Zon and defend his WBA super-middleweight title. Zon, an awkward southpaw, found a home for heavy backhand lefts in the opening rounds and drove Munguia to the ropes and into corners.
Zon was on the verge of knocking Munguia out in the sixth, leading with a long left uppercut that badly hurt the Mexican. Munguia retreated but Zon swarmed all over him, hammering the champion, who refused to fall.
When Zon tired, Munguia hit back and took clear control in the late rounds, winning on the scorecards with two cards of 117-111.
Espinoza retains WBO featherweight title
Rafael Espinoza dismissed replacement opponent Ricardo Blandon to retain the WBO world title. He banged a flush cross into the top of the Nicaraguan's head, opening a nasty cut along Blandon's eyelid.
The ringside doctor pulled Blandon out in the third round immediately after inspecting the cut.
Analysis: what the rounds and the cards say
This section is analysis, not reported fact. The source's round-by-round account has Mbilli competitive early and Alvarez taking over from the sixth. The 115-112 card fits that shape more closely than the 117-110 card, which implies one judge gave Mbilli very little beyond the opening rounds.
Alvarez's own verdict that he did "perfectly" is a fighter's assessment rather than a neutral one. The concrete measure is that he is a world champion again 16 years after his first title, in a 68-bout professional career.
The original report is from skysports.com.