Boxing divisional rankings: Canelo retains No. 1 spot, Mbilli drops one place

Canelo Alvarez returned to form Saturday, dominating Christian Mbilli and earning a unanimous decision victory to regain the WBC super middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs) won by scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110 in a fight he controlled after the opening two rounds. In his last outing, in September 2025, Alvarez lost by unanimous decision to Terence Crawford.

Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 KOs) suffered his first professional loss. He was aggressive, pressing forward and attacking Alvarez from the opening bell, but looked frustrated in the second half of the fight and couldn’t do enough to retain his title.

With the win, Alvarez remains No. 1 in the 168-pound division, while Mbilli drops to No. 4.

In the co-main event, Jaime Munguia (47-2, 35 KOs) had a tougher night than expected but earned a unanimous decision victory over Nikita Zon (12-1-1, 10 KOs). All three judges scored the fight 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112. Munguia has now won three consecutive fights, all by decision, since suffering a sixth-round TKO loss to Bruno Surace in May 2025.

Munguia retains his No. 5 spot in the super middleweight division.

Also on the card, WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (29-0, 25 KOs) made quick work of late replacement Ricardo Blandon (21-7, 14 KOs), earning a third-round TKO win. Espinoza retains his No. 1 spot in the featherweight division.

Earlier in the card, David Picasso (33-2-1, 18 KOs) moved up in weight but suffered a split decision loss to Carl Jammes Martin (29-0, 21 KOs). Picasso exits the junior featherweight rankings, while neither fighter did enough to earn a spot in the 126-pound division.

ESPN’s divisional boxing rankings highlight the best in the sport in every weight class. Rankings will change based on recent results and performances. Fighters who have announced they are moving to a different weight class will be ranked in that new division, if warranted, only once they fight in that weight class. Fighters who currently own titles in two divisions can be ranked in both.

Fighters who haven’t competed in the past 12 months — and don’t have a fight scheduled — will be dropped from the rankings until they fight again. Any fighter who tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance will also be removed. That boxer will be eligible to reenter the rankings after his next bout.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here. For ESPN women’s divisional rankings, click here.

Jump to this week’s changes: Super middleweight | Junior middleweight | Junior featherweight

HEAVYWEIGHT (UNLIMITED)

CRUISERWEIGHT (UP TO 200 POUNDS)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (UP TO 175 POUNDS)

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 168 POUNDS)

MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 160 POUNDS)

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 154 POUNDS)

WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 147 POUNDS)

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 140 POUNDS)

LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 135 POUNDS)

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 130 POUNDS)

FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 126 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 122 POUNDS)

BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 118 POUNDS)

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 115 POUNDS)

FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 112 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 108 POUNDS)

STRAWWEIGHT (UP TO 105 POUNDS)