Though it was not in the greatest of fights, Canelo Alvarez can now call himself a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion, coming out on top in a win over William Scull. The fight headlined a Riyadh Season card held in Saudi Arabia.
Alvarez retained the WBA (Super), WBC and WBO super middleweight titles, while regaining the IBF super middleweight gold he had been stripped of months earlier.
After what appeared to be a feel-out first round, Alvarez started to connect in the second, doing work with his combinations. Scull focused on his jab, and that jab continued to be on display for the first half of the fight. That said, Scull seemed to only be throwing one or two punches at a time before dancing around the ring. Alvarez’s production was low, meanwhile, moving around the ring and being selective with his punches, trying to work the body when he does throw.
After a quiet round seven that Alvarez appeared to take off, Alvarez re-pressured, targeting the body and making Scull throw and miss off the back foot. That ended up being the rest of the fight, as neither man threw much of note, with the referee at one point even pausing to tell the fighters to pick up their action.
Alvarez would take a unanimous decision with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 119-109.
Canelo Alvarez Becomes Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion Again In Highly-Criticized Fight With William Scull
Alvarez has now won six straight since his May 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol. He has been WBA (Super) and WBC super middleweight champion since defeating Callum Smith in December 2020, before adding the IBF title six months later in a win over Billy Joe Saunders. Alvarez had also been IBF champion but was stripped of the title for choosing to face Edgar Berlanga in September, rather than Scull.
Alvarez also appeared to have at one point been in discussion to box with Jake Paul before plans to compete on a Riyadh Season card were finalized.
Scull won the IBF title in October, scoring a decision over Vladimir Shishkin.
