Terence Crawford Reacts To Canelo Alvarez Dethroning Christian Mbilli To Reclaim WBC Belt

Following Canelo Alvarez's unanimous decision victory over Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, retired champion Terence Crawford publicly applauded his former rival on social media.

The American star took to X on Monday to share his admiration for the Mexican veteran's latest championship triumph.

"Canelo is cold. I’ve always been a fan of cinnamon! … He was taking a lot of fighters’ ‘0’ from them [including Mbilli]. Salute champ. It was a honor to share the ring with you, champ."

Crawford’s words highlighted the mutual respect between two modern boxing legends who previously shared the squared circle in an unforgettable clash.

That respectful message arrived right as speculation regarding an epic rematch began to sweep through the boxing world.

Alvarez re-established his dominance in the division with a calculated performance on November 1, 2026, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 36-year-old superstar captured a unanimous decision win over France's previously unbeaten Christian Mbilli.

Judges at ringside turned in official scorecards of 116-111, 117-110, and 115-112 in favor of the Mexican icon.

With that victory, Alvarez improved his professional record to 64 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws, with 39 knockouts.

More importantly, the triumph saw Alvarez reclaim the World Boxing Council super middleweight championship belt.

Mbilli entered the ring holding an undefeated record and a reputation for relentless, toe-to-toe pressure.

However, Alvarez neutralized his opponent’s trademark aggression using patient defense and razor-sharp counterpunching.

The victory earned Alvarez a reported purse exceeding forty million dollars and instantly re-ignited his campaign to sit atop the sport.

A RIVALRY REKINDLED

The victory over Mbilli marked an essential bounce-back performance for Alvarez following his historic loss to Crawford in September 2025.

In that iconic undisputed championship showdown, Crawford jumped three weight divisions to outbox Alvarez and take the undisputed 168-pound crown.

Crawford preserved his perfect professional record of 42 victories with 31 knockouts through that historic performance.

Yet rather than linger to defend all four sanctioning body belts, Crawford retired less than three months after defeating Alvarez.

Crawford's swift departure from the sweet science fractured the super middleweight division into four separate world titles.

Mbilli had emerged as one of the four new titleholders during that fractured period before Alvarez challenged him in Riyadh.

In the immediate aftermath of his championship win over Mbilli, Alvarez wasted no time in identifying Crawford as his primary target.

The four-division champion made it clear that he wants to lure Crawford out of retirement for a lucrative second chapter.

Longtime trainer Eddy Reynoso echoed that desire, emphasizing that the version of Canelo seen in Riyadh can avenge his past defeat.

"We hope for a rematch with Crawford because this Canelo can beat anyone," Reynoso told BoxingScene.

"He can beat Crawford," the trainer added with supreme confidence.

THE RETURN OF OLD-SCHOOL CANELO

Reynoso explained that getting Alvarez back to his best required an extensive, multifaceted reconstruction inside the gym.

According to Reynoso, skepticism had mounted that the 36-year-old veteran's elite career had reached its natural conclusion.

To correct course, the coaching staff stripped Alvarez's approach back to the foundational skills he learned as a teenager.

Reynoso recalled the earliest days of training the red-haired prospect, back when he originally handed him the nickname "Little Canelo."

"Over time, we had stopped doing the things we did – actually, we had forgot about them," Reynoso explained.

"So you saw old and new Canelo, back to when he was 15 years old," the trainer revealed.

The camp was conducted without the persistent injuries that had hindered Alvarez during past ring appearances.

Reynoso pointed out that wrist and elbow pain had compromised Canelo during his loss to Crawford as well as his defeat against light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

For the Mbilli preparation, Alvarez relocated to Spain for several weeks of high-level preparation.

During that European camp, Alvarez trained with direct access to undefeated former two-division undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

The focused preparation resulted in an injury-free camp that allowed Alvarez to neutralize Mbilli’s high-output style.

Mbilli had established himself with a dramatic Fight of the Year candidate against Lester Martinez in 2025, but he found few openings against Alvarez.

BENAVIDEZ WEIGHS IN ON THE REMATCH

While Crawford offered praise, fellow pound-for-pound star David Benavidez delivered a candid assessment of the potential rematch.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Benavidez acknowledged that a second meeting between Alvarez and Crawford would be deeply intriguing.

"I would love to see it because basically, when Canelo had that close fight with Gennadiy Golovkin, the second fight he came in more fierce, more conditioned and stayed in the pocket," Benavidez observed.

Benavidez noted that Alvarez possesses the proven ability to analyze past footage and adapt his strategy for second encounters.

"So, he has it in him, I would love to see that," Benavidez stated regarding Alvarez's rematch track record.

"Honestly, that would be the only other fighter that I would want to see Canelo against – Canelo-Crawford II and I think that Canelo does better, but I don’t think that he goes in there and takes Crawford out," Benavidez added.

Benavidez expects the sequel to be a tightly contested tactical chess match between two generational talents.

"I think that it would be a close fight, but then also what I would be excited to see is how Crawford does with that rematch and if it is going to make him better – which I think it is because he is a great fighter – so it would be another great fight," Benavidez said.

Benavidez also reflected on what went wrong for Alvarez during the first clash in September 2025.

In his view, psychological overconfidence might have hampered Alvarez when facing an opponent moving up three weight divisions.

"I think that what happened is, from him coming up three weight-classes, Canelo even had that ‘easy money’ shirt on, I think he let that get to his head," Benavidez remarked.

"That is just from my perspective, that is just what it looked like to me," Benavidez continued.

"Canelo is a smart guy, he takes information from a fighter really well, so obviously having been through that first fight, I am sure that he would take a lot of the stuff that Crawford was having success with and try to neutralise it," Benavidez concluded.

CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY IN RIYADH

Despite Benavidez's belief in the blockbuster potential of a Crawford rematch, he was far less complimentary of Alvarez's work against Mbilli.