Unified three-belt super Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will face IBF champ William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) for the undisputed 168-lb championship on May 3rd at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(Fotocredit: Torsten Helmke)
This will be the first fight of Canelo’s lucrative four-fight deal for Turki Al-Sheikh’s Riyadh Season. It also sets up Canelo’s next match against 154-pounder Terence Crawford on September 13th.
Undisputed Championship
The Cuba-born Scull, 29, is a fighter that Canelo chose not to fight recently, which cost him his IBF belt. Scull then won the IBF title, beating Vladimir Shishkin last October in Germany. Now, Alvarez will be looking to recapture the IBF belt to go into the Crawford match with four titles rather than just one.
Scull’s win over Shiskhin was questionable, as he was outworked in that fight and appeared to lose. Even if you were one of the fans who thought Scull deserved the victory, there’s no getting around the fact that he looked like a below-average fighter who would lose to Canelo’s recent opponents, Edgar Berlanga, and Jaime Munguia.
It’s superficial stuff that only the ultra-hardcore boxing fans will pay attention to. The average fan won’t care how many titles Canelo has in his possession for the Crawford fight. Those who like Canelof fighting the 38-year-old Nebraska native will be happy to see them fight, even for no belts.
It would be better for the average fans worldwide if Canelo used the first fight of his four-fight deal with Turki to face someone they’ve heard of, respect, and have been pushing for him to fight. Fans want David Benavidez as his next opponent, not the little-known Scull, who only the ones who follow boxing closely have ever heard of. Scull is a complete unknown to everyone else in the world.
The legend Saul Alvarez Canelo will fight William Scull in undisputed fight in Riyadh on the 3rd of May … if he win the fight in September will be undisputed again 🔥🥊
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 8, 2025
Last Updated on 02/08/2025
