Canelo Alvarez scored a crucial win over Christian Mbilli on Saturday, rebounding from a loss to Terence Crawford after 13 months out of the ring.

Alvarez outpointed Mbilli to take the WBC super-middleweight title from the Cameroonian, earning scorecards of 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110.

Those scores factored in a docked point for Mbilli in round eight, after the champion landed one low blow too many for the referee’s liking, but it would have been a comfortable win for Canelo regardless.

The Mexican icon was much more active than he had been in recent performances, starting well and – at times – matching the volume punching of Mbilli, who is known for his activity.

Mbilli, 31, allowed that activity to dip here and there on Saturday, and Canelo, 36, capitalised well. The four-weight world champion varied his shots well, landing hard right hooks early on and mixing in uppercuts in the later rounds.

Canelo appeared emotional afterwards, as he regained super-middleweight gold after losing his undisputed status against Crawford last year.

Crawford claimed all the major belts by outpointing Canelo, before retiring from boxing in December. Upon the American’s retirement, Mbilli’s interim WBC belt was upgraded.

But the Cameroonian’s first defence of the official title ended in disappointment, as Canelo got back to winning ways in Riyadh, which has been subjected to deadly attacks in recent weeks.

The Yemen-aligned Houthis had launched numerous strikes on the Saudi city, injuring hundreds of people and killing more than 20, per local authorities.

Still, Saturday’s boxing event went ahead at ANB Arena, where Canelo said after winning: “It’s so difficult to explain [my emotions]. It’s something unbelievable.

“This feels like my first title, now after 21 years as a professional; 16 years ago I won my first title, now I won the title again. I’m so proud, so proud of my team. [They] made me the champion I am.”

“No, [nothing surprised me]. I knew he’s a strong fighter, and he didn’t throw a lot of punches because it’s difficult to throw punches with me. I did perfectly.”