It's been more than a year since Canelo Alvarez last fought. Now, the Mexican warrior returns in his first fight since losing to Terence Crawford last September in Las Vegas.
Before touching gloves with Christian Mbilli on October 31, it's fair to revisit Canelo's humbling unanimous decision loss to Crawford, and ask whether any lessons from that fight apply to this weekend's showdown in Riyadh.
Per CompuBox, Crawford landed 115 of 534 shots (21.5%), while Canelo landed 99 of 338 (29.3%). And although Canelo held a 83-70 edge in power punches landed, Crawford connected on 45 jabs and controlled the tempo for the majority of the fight, limiting Canelo to single-digit strikes only until the last four rounds.
MORE: How we scored Canelo-Crawford
The loss ended Canelo’s six-fight win streak. It also showed a fighter can take Canelo’s power and give it right back. He aims to take what he learned from the Crawford fight and focus on overpowering Mbilli (29-0-1)
"When you lose, you always look back at your mistakes, and at this level, there’s very little between a win and a loss," Canelo said. "I did a good job of preparing for that fight, but throughout fight week my mind wasn’t there.
"I always say, I don’t want to look back on things. Now, I’m going to learn from that [fight] and look towards Mbilli. I think his style is perfect for me to go against and will make for a great fight."
Mbilli has 24 wins via knockout. He won the interim WBC title against Maciej Sulecki and was elevated to full-time champion after Crawford's retirement. He has faced Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Sulecki, and Lester Martinez.
Canelo has faced knockout artists before. His most recent losses came against Dmitry Bivol and Crawford. The 36-year-old heads to Saudi Arabia looking to prove he’s still the face of boxing.
"I feel great. I don't know how he [Mbilli] feels, and I don't really care how he feels. I care about how I feel, and I feel strong and ready to step in the ring again," Canelo said.
"Mbilli is a great fighter. He's a tough fighter. He throws a lot of punches, and he's a champion for a reason. I'm just glad to go face a champion, and I'm ready for that."
