WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) achieved his goal of capturing the IBF title from champ William Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) to become a two-time undisputed champion at 168 on Saturday night at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
115-113, 116-112, 119-109
Scull didn’t put up much of a fight. He seemed to be focusing on going the distance without getting knocked out. When Scull did throw, he could connect with his fast punches on Canelo. He had the hand speed advantage over the Mexican star, but he wasn’t willing to hold his ground to use it.
Canelo’s Frustration
Scull countered Canelo well. By the end of the fight, the Cuban’s punches had swollen both his eyes. He was also frustrated by Scull’s movement and his sharp punches. In Canelo’s frustration, he used his upper body to flip Scull when he fell into him and hit him in the back. It was pure foul, but the referee didn’t lift a finger to penalize him. He should have. That’s dirty pool.
Alvarez, 34, didn’t look anywhere near the level he’d first fought Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017. He’s lost speed, looks less muscular, and his punch output has dropped off to just a trickle. Indeed, tonight, Canelo only landed six to 10 punches in many rounds. It wasn’t just due to the movement of Scull. It was age. Canelo can’t throw like he used to without getting tired.
IBF Secured
Canelo gave up the IBF title last July after being ordered to defend it against mandatory Scull. Alvarez wanted to fight Edgar Berlanga instead, which he did in September.
Once it became important for Canelo to become undisputed as a marketing tool for the Terence Crawford fight, he chose to fight Scull to win it back. It obviously looks bad to have champions giving up belts to circumvent ordered fights, but this is Canelo. He does what he wants to do.
After the fight, Terence Crawford entered the ring for a face-off with Canelo and to have their September 12th fight announced. Crawford is about the same size as Scull, but he might have a chance against Canelo due to how physically eroded his skills have become.
