Canelo Alvarez Revives His Defensive Roots to Reclaim the Super Middleweight Title

Canelo Alvarez’s win over Christian Mbilli offered a practical answer to the doubts that followed his loss to Terence Crawford: his old defensive instincts still work when he builds a fight around them. Alvarez reclaimed the WBC super middleweight title in Riyadh, winning by unanimous decision on scores of 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112.

For trainer Eddy Reynoso, the performance came from returning to habits Alvarez learned as a teenager. The team reviewed footage from the fighter’s prime and revisited defensive fundamentals that had faded from their training. “Over time, we had stopped doing the things we did – actually, we had forgot about them,” Reynoso told BoxingScene. “So you saw old and new Canelo, back to when he was 15 years old.”

Defense set the terms against Mbilli

Mbilli is known for bringing pressure and volume. Last year, he turned that style into a Fight of the Year contender against the unbeaten Lester Martinez. Alvarez, 64-3-2 (39 KOs), chose a different kind of contest: he controlled distance, made Mbilli miss and answered with counters.

Reynoso said Alvarez found the range he wanted in the opening round and recognized that the approach would let him counter freely. “I knew it, I knew it … [Mbilli] couldn’t work past the strategy of Saul. Mbilli was lost. He couldn’t solve the defense.” The result was a measured performance that blunted Mbilli’s forward pressure rather than meeting it head-on.

Alvarez’s victory came after a 2025 defeat to Crawford and a year away from the ring. Reynoso described the camp as uncertain, with questions about the 36-year-old’s age and what he had left after the loss. Alvarez, he said, trained with the intensity of a newcomer. “After that [undisputed title] loss with Crawford, Saul was just really, really sad,” Reynoso said. “But after he trained so hard, we can say we’re back. We are back!”

A healthier camp, and a clearer path

The team’s first priority was getting Alvarez to the fight without the wrist and elbow problems Reynoso said had affected his performances against Crawford and Dmitry Bivol. Alvarez spent several weeks training in Spain, where he had access to medical care and worked alongside unbeaten former two-division undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Reynoso said the camp helped address physical issues and kept Alvarez grounded. “The doctors there were amazing. All the exercises were for the good of boxing and body. It gave us the best advantage,” he said. “We fixed so many problems. It’s why we looked better.”

Alvarez’s title win also reopened the conversation about his next opponents. Reynoso said a rematch with Crawford is the preferred target, arguing that Alvarez can beat him. Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), retired less than three months after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision. On Monday, he praised Alvarez in a post on X, calling him “cold” and saying it had been an honor to share the ring with him.

Reynoso also named recent 168-pound titleholder Hamzah Sheeraz and new IBF champion Osleys Iglesias as possible opponents. Unbeaten WBC interim champion Martinez, who has earned attention for his win over Mbilli, may have to wait. “He deserves competition. He’s hungry. His time will come,” Reynoso said.

The team’s Riyadh campaign

Alvarez was not the only Reynoso fighter to leave Riyadh with a title victory. Super middleweight champion Jaime Munguia and featherweight titleholder Rafael Espinoza also won on the card. Reynoso said the team stayed focused on its work despite distractions during fight week.

“One of the main things we believe is, you never cry before you get hit,” he said. “We are all professionals. We all accomplished our mission.” Reynoso added that he hopes the Crawford rematch happens, saying both fighters respect each other and that “Boxing needs that fight.”

For now, Alvarez has a belt back and a more convincing performance to build on. The Mbilli fight suggests his next chapter may depend less on chasing the pace of younger pressure fighters and more on making his defense and counterpunching dictate the terms.