Canelo Alvarez beats Scull to reclaim undisputed super-middleweight title

With his unanimous decision victory over William Scull and his return to the IBF super middleweight championship, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has re-unified the division. He will now face Terence Crawford, who was previously welterweight champion.

As the Mexican suffered his first professional boxing loss on Sunday, Scull, who had a height advantage over Alvarez, was unable to find a solution to his methodical stalking and effective body blows.

It’s a dull fight for me, I thought. Scull was merely attempting to survive, not to win. After all three judges gave him the victory (115-112, 116-112, 119-109), Alvarez declared in his post-fight interview, “I detest these kinds of fights.”

Alvarez has won the 168-pound title twice and was stripped of the IBF strap last year after choosing to fight Edgar Berlanga over Scull, the sanctioning body’s top-ranked competitor.

Scull struggled to avoid Alvarez’s constant assault early on, as the Mexican landed powerful body blows in the second and fourth rounds, temporarily putting him off balance.

In the fifth round, Alvarez continued to stalk him after coming off the ground with a right uppercut and pushing him back before countering him with a counter.

After Scull caught him with another right hand, Alvarez’s corner warned him to “don’t let this guy get bigger and more confident,” before he responded with body shots at the end of the sixth round.

In the seventh round, Alvarez landed several combinations to the body and landed Scull with a lead left hook close to the ropes.

Alvarez continued to perform body-punches throughout the fight, allowing only six shots from Scull, who claimed the 63rd victory of his professional career.

Alvarez, 34, improved to 63-2-2 with 39 knockouts on his Saudi debut, continuing his tradition of fighting during the Cinco de Mayo festival weekend in Mexico.

The Mexican said he was anticipating a fight with Crawford in Las Vegas if he lost to him.

“I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter because Crawford is one of the best out there.” He declared, “It’s my pleasure.

American Crawford, who defeated Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight match in 2023 to become the undisputed champion, declared he was prepared to face Alvarez as they squared off in the ring.

“I’ll demonstrate to the world what greatness looks like,” Crawford said.

In February, Alvarez and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Seasons Promotion signed a four-fight contract.

As part of Saudi Arabia’s oil-funded expansion into the sport, which has drawn criticism for “sportswashing” its poor human rights record, the kingdom has recently invested money in boxing competitions.