The super middleweight title fight between Canelo Álvarez and William Scull, which was anticipated as a mere formality, met expectations on Saturday.
Álvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) became the undisputed super middleweight champion for the second time in his career, after defeating Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) by decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With this victory, Álvarez regained the IBF title that was stripped from him last year after he refused to face Scull.
Saturday’s triumph set up an expected showdown between Alvarez and Terence Crawford on September 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Crawford was present on Saturday and immediately went up to the ring for a face-off with Alvarez.
The final result was what the boxing world expected, but it took a 12-round fight to make it official. Scull, 32, a native of Cuba, spent most of the fight dancing around the perimeter, throwing weak jabs.
The fight was easy to score in favor of Álvarez, but difficult to witness. Álvarez won with scorecards of 119-109, 116-112 and 115-113.
I don’t like fighting those types of boxers. They came just to survive until the last round. That’s why I don’t like fighting them. It won’t be that type of fight [against Crawford]. I hate that type of fight. He moved even more than we thought. But it’s okay. We won. We are here.
Canelo Álvarez
Álvarez affirmed that it will be a “pleasure” to face a boxer like Crawford.
I feel great. Crawford is one of the best and, you know, I like sharing the ring with that kind of boxer. It’s a pleasure.
Canelo Álvarez
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) offered little analysis of Álvarez’s performance, limiting himself to saying: “He did what he had to do to get the job done.”
Both Alvarez and Scull received warnings for inactivity, but this did not prevent it from being a slow fight. Both combined for 445 punches thrown, according to CompuBox. This is the lowest combined punches thrown in a 12-round fight in CompuBox’s 40-year history. Each landed an average of five punches per round.
However, Álvarez’s offense clearly outmatched Scull’s, as he targeted Scull’s body with power punches. This extended Álvarez’s winning streak to six, all of which have gone the distance. He hasn’t scored a knockout since the eleventh round against Caleb Plant in November 2021. Scull, who entered Saturday as the IBF champion, suffered the first loss of his career.
