Christian Mbilli

Christian Mbilli went into his WBC super middleweight title fight with Canelo Álvarez with no professional losses, 29 wins and one draw [2]. He was 31 [2]. He lost on 31 October 2026, when the three judges scored the 12 rounds 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110, all for Alvarez [4] [6] [5]. The name is spelled Christian Mbilli on the WBC's own site, which is the spelling used here [1]. Al Jazeera writes it M'billi [3].

From Yaoundé to the Olympics

Mbilli was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 26 April 1995 [2]. His mother emigrated to France when he was young, and he later joined her in Europe [2]. He started boxing at 15 [2].

He represented France at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He reached the quarter-finals and lost to the Cuban boxer Arlen López, who went on to win gold [2].

Montreal, the pro record and the belts

After Rio he moved to Montreal to train under Marc Ramsay [2], and the WBC lists him as based there [1]. He turned professional in 2017 [2] [1] and fights as "The Panther" [2]. Before the Canelo bout, beIN SPORTS listed his record as 29 wins, 24 of them by knockout. He had no losses and one draw [2]. Among the wins it names Carlos Góngora and Sergiy Derevyanchenko [2].

The WBC's profile lists the belts he held before the world title. He won the WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title in September 2021 by beating Ronny Landaeta, and defended it several times [1]. Earlier in his career he held the WBC Youth middleweight and WBC Francophone middleweight titles [1].

The interim title and the Crawford decision

His first world-title belt came on 27 June 2025, in Quebec City. He won the WBC interim super middleweight title (168 lb) by first-round stoppage of Maciej Sulecki [1] [2].

In September 2025 he fought Lester Martínez to a split-decision draw. beIN SPORTS reports that Martínez landed more punches over the fight [2]. The WBC's profile had the bout set for 13 September 2025. Mbilli was co-main event on the card headlined by Canelo Álvarez against Terence Crawford [1].

The WBC then stripped Crawford of the super middleweight title in December 2025 over a sanctioning-fee dispute. In January 2026 the council elevated Mbilli to full WBC super middleweight champion [2]. The Canelo fight was set as his first defence of that title [2].

Riyadh: a unanimous decision for Canelo

Alvarez is a former two-time undisputed super middleweight champion who has held world titles in several weight classes [3]. He lost to Crawford in September 2025 and had not fought since [3]. The bout was set for Riyadh, and organisers said it would go ahead despite attacks on Saudi airports earlier that month [3]. The bout went the full 12 rounds [6]. It was for the WBC title [6]. Turki Al-Sheikh said on social media that Alvarez had told him he would fight in Riyadh that October "no matter what happens" [3]. He also said that Alvarez "fears nothing" [3].

On 31 October 2026 the judges gave Alvarez a unanimous decision. Sunday Guardian reports the cards as 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110, with no stoppage [6]. Bleacher Report calls Mbilli the previously unbeaten champion [5]. Depor places the fight at the ANB Arena in Riyadh [4]. Mbilli lost [5].

The result means Alvarez is champion again, having taken the WBC super middleweight title back from Mbilli [6]. The loss was his first as a professional, because he had been unbeaten before it [5] [2].

What comes next

No next opponent for Alvarez was confirmed straight after the fight [6]. Depor says the win leaves questions about his next opponent, without confirming a challenger [4].

The reports on the result do not name a next bout for Mbilli [4].

The Riyadh bout was meant to be the first defence of the full WBC title he had held since January [2]. It ended with the belt moving to Alvarez, who had held it before, on the night of the fight [6].