CANELO Alvarez makes his Saudi debut tomorrow in the Riyadh Season Venue when he takes on William Scull over 12 rounds. One minor intrigue point is Canelo’s chance to become undisputed champion once again at super-middleweight. That is the result of a sanctioning body technicality, however. Unless Scull brings something not seen before in his 23 fights, he is not on Canelo’s level.
Scull did manage to produce some sort of world-level form when winning the IBF title that Canelo dropped (or was forced to drop, depending on who you ask), defeating unbeaten Russian Vladimir Shishkin via unanimous decision in Germany last October. It wasn’t a pretty fight. A fair few seasoned observers felt Shishkin did enough to win. None of this adds confidence to a Scull pick.
The main event is due to start at 6 a.m. local time, early in the morning UK, so it hits the East Coast at a peak viewing time. How that impacts the fighters’ biological clocks remains to be seen, although it is assumed preparations have been made to counteract this.
One thing Scull, 23-0 (9 KOs), does have in his favour is a noticeable size advantage, which, if used correctly, could cause problems for Canelo, 62-2-2 (39 KOs). The Cuban is a hefty super-middleweight, although Canelo has dealt with similar frames in the past. UK fighters Callum Smith and Rocky Fielding offered plenty of body for the Mexican to tee off on.
Scull, 32, isn’t a slippery southpaw mover like Erislandy Lara, who caused Canelo a fair few problems back in 2014. This less mobile version of Canelo will need to cut off the ring and stop the rangy opponent from finding too many escape routes as he jabs and shimmies around the angles.
Scull isn’t as straightforward as a Christian Mbilli or as one-paced as an Edgar Berlanga. His amateur career spanned hundreds of fights and he knows how to make things awkward – a point referenced by Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso when the fight was announced.
That said, it still feels like a marking time fight for Canelo, who doesn’t have too many more years to play with, seeing as he turned pro at the age of 15 and has over 500 rounds on the clock. Providing he gets past Scull unscathed, a September bout with Terence Crawford is likely.
If reports are to be believed, the pound-for-pound puncher was close to securing a fight with Jake Paul at one point. What most boxing fans want to see is a fight with David Benavidez, who has since scurried up to find his fortune at light-heavyweight.
All of the other stuff is interesting in a way, but a bit on the novelty side. To twist a famous Muhammad Ali quote: don’t count the remaining Canelo fights, make the remaining Canelo fights count.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. William Scull Prediction
I don’t think this is going to be a pretty fight. Scull is tall, strong, extremely negative, likely to survive rather than thrive. This isn’t the destructive Canelo of old, putting piles of punches together, sustaining combinations that overwhelm and bust up overmatched victims.
Scull has worked his way up the rankings, pushed himself into number one contender status and picked up the stripped belt once it became available. He’s paid his dues, paid his sanctioning fees and worked the system.
It’s difficult to see a scenario in which Canelo does not dominate Scull to become the two-time undisputed champion. Some foresee an early stoppage, but I predict Scull will maybe fold late on or, more likely, concede a wide points loss.
