Don't call it a comeback, because Canelo Alvarez has been at or near the very top of the sport of boxing for years. Last Saturday, in his return from elbow surgery, a 13-month layoff and a humbling loss to Terence Crawford, the 36-year-old Alvarez reminded fans of his legendary skills by dominating the second half of his unanimous decision win over unbeaten WBC super middleweight titleholder Christian Mbilli. One can never quite predict when an aging fighter (and even someone of Alvarez's legendary stature) might get old overnight.
But despite standing firmly within his 21st year as a professional and competing in his 69th bout, Alvarez was everything he needed to be (and more) in order to discipline the typically hard-charging Mbilli away from exchanging with him as the fight wore on. Alvarez's counterpunching was pinpoint accurate and heavy. His defense and head movement also remained on point as the Mexican superstar showcased his well-rounded game in his first fight since losing his undisputed super middleweight championship against Crawford, who had moved up multiple weight classes just weeks shy of his 38th birthday and scored a clear decision win before walking off into retirement last September.
Whether or not Alvarez can secure coveted rematches against Crawford or current light heavyweight king Dmitry Bivol, which he has been vocal about wanting, he proved against Mbilli that he remains the class of the 168-pound division, where heavy hitters like Hamzah Sheeraz, Lester Martinez and former unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhabuly currently ply their trade. Alvarez's fight IQ is just as elite as ever and he has become an even more efficient fighter with age, which has been a key part of his sustained longevity. Not bad for a fighter with less than 50 amateur bouts who turned pro at 15 and has arguably been the biggest star in the sport for more than a decade.
This may not be the exact same Canelo who dominated the division to become undisputed champion in 2021 after reigning atop the P4P top 10 for three full years, but he proved against Mbilli that he still has it and -- save for the justified criticism he has received for openly avoiding unified cruiserweight king David Benavidez back when they fought in the same division -- still wants the smoke in a big way. Undisputed junior featherweight champion (33-0, 27 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 1 The four-division champion followed up a huge 2025, where he became the first boxer to defend the "Ring" title four times, by scoring a career-defining victory over countryman Junto Nakatani in May. The fight, which drew a sellout crowd of 55,000 inside the Tokyo Dome, was the biggest boxing event in Japanese history.
The 33-year-old Inoue, who claimed a unanimous decision, further cemented his status as an all-time great. Unified junior bantamweight champion (24-0, 17 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 2 The 26-year-old phenom from San Antonio continues to build his case for inclusion in the argument of best fighter in the world. After an incredible 2025 that made him a finalist for fighter of the year, Rodriguez moved up to 118 pounds to open 2026 and scored a sixth-round knockout of Antonio Vargas to claim the WBA bantamweight title and a belt in his third weight class.
Unified cruiserweight champion (32-0, 26 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 3 At 29, "The Mexican Monster" took a major step forward toward boxing immortality when he moved up 25 pounds to cruiserweight and knocked out unified champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez. The victory made Benavidez the first boxer in history to win titles at 168, 175 and 200 pounds. Benavidez returns on Dec. 12 in an attempt to further unify cruiserweight titles against WBC beltholder Michael Cieslak.
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