Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is once again the undisputed super middleweight world champion.
WBA, WBC and WBO champion Alvarez took a unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 119-109) over IBF titlist William Scull on Saturday night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, successfully setting the stage for a September showdown against fellow pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford.
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The fight, however, was abysmal. Scull didn’t come to win and seemed content with throwing pitter-patter jabs and moving laterally, hoping to steal low-output rounds. And to his credit, one of the judges had the fight one round away from being a draw.
In the end, Alvarez (152) and Scull (293) combined to throw the fewest punches in a 12-round fight in the 40-year history of boxing stat-tracker CompuBox.
Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) targeted the body throughout the contest, frequently landing with the left hook and straight right hands. Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) walked Alvarez onto his right hand several times in the fight, including an uppercut early in Round 5, perhaps his best shot of the fight.
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Alvarez spent much of the 36 minutes chasing Scull down and trying to get the Cuban to hold his feet, however the Mexican star refrained from increasing the tempo and injecting some much-needed life into the contest.
Turki Alalshikh confirmed in the ring afterward that Alvarez will defend his undisputed crown against Crawford on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
Alvarez vs. Crawford is one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing today — and represents, by far, the toughest challenge Alvarez has faced since he moved up to light heavyweight to challenge Dmitry Bivol for the WBA belt in 2022.
“That’s why I don’t like to fight those kinds of guys, they come just to survive [and] just to do the 12 rounds,” Alvarez said of Scull. “That’s why I don’t like them. I hope September [against Crawford brings] another kind of fight.
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“With [Saturday’s] kind of fight, anything can be said [by the judges]. For me, it’s a boring fight. A fighter [is] not [trying] to win, they just try to survive. I hate [those] kinds of fighters.”
“[Scull] did even more [moving] than I thought, but it’s OK, we win, we are here [and the] two-time undisputed champion.”
In the night’s co-feature, Badou Jack (29-3-3, 17 KOs) retained his WBC cruiserweight world title with a debatable majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 115-113) win over Noel Mikaelyan (27-3, 12 KOs.
Also on the card, Jaime Munguia (45-2, 35 KOs) avenged his sole knockout defeat by winning a comfortable unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 117-111) over Bruno Surace (26-1, 5 KOs), and Martin Bakole (21-2-1, 16 KOs) was fortunate to escape with a draw against Efe Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KOs) in their heavyweight bout.
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Alvarez is on a five-fight win streak since a May 2022 decision loss to Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title. The Mexican has not scored a knockout in three and a half years and hopes to change that on Saturday. The bout also marks Alvarez’s first outside of North America in his illustrious 66-fight, 20-year career.
Elsewhere on the card, Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) gets an immediate shot at redemption in a rematch with France’s Bruno Surace (26-0, 5 KOs), Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) faces Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) in a heavyweight contest, and Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) defends his WBC cruiserweight title against Noel Mikaelyan (27-2, 12 KOs).
Get complete Alvarez vs. Scull results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s live results play-by-play of the main card.
Main card
Undisputed super middleweight title: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez def. William Scull via unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 119-109)
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WBC cruiserweight title: Badou Jack def. Noel Mikaelyan via majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 115-113)
Super middleweight: Jaime Munguia def. Bruno Surace via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 117-111)
Heavyweight: Martin Bakole vs. Efe Ajagba declared majority decision draw (94-96, 95-95, 95-95)
Light heavyweight: Brayan Leon def. Aaron Rocha Guerrero via points (60-54)
Heavyweight: Richard Riakporhe def. Kevin Nicolas Espindola via fourth-round RTD
Middleweight: Marco Verde def. Michel Galvan Polina via first-round TKO | Watch video
Super featherweight: Mohammed Alakel def. Alexander Morales via points (60-54)
