Moments after Canelo Álvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September.
Álvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout early Sunday Saudi local time against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category.
The decision had barely been announced before Turki al-Sheikh, head of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, stepped into the ring and ordered it cleared out so that he could bring four-division champion Crawford out of the crowd to face Álvarez, who was wearing one belt around his waist, another over his shoulder and holding one in each arm.
“Now we want to do the face off for the fight of the century,” Alalshikh told the crowd, “between the two great fighters in our generation.”
Álvarez is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight against Scull with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168lb. The 37-year-old Crawford (41-0) has won titles in four divisions from lightweight to light middleweight.
Álvarez was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defense against Scull. He’d owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant.
The fight against Scull didn’t live up to the hype. The Cuba-born Scull entered unbeaten in 23 professional fights. He constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Álvarez, who later said he hated fighting that style of boxer.
Álvarez was fighting outside the US or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6.20am local time (11.20pm ET Saturday) for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the US west coast.
The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing many more punches but not landing enough. Álvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. In the end, Álvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body.
“It’s OK, we won. We’re here with the title as the champion,” Álvarez said, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he’d plenty of time to prepare. “I’m a champion. I’m a professional, so that’s all, no excuse or anything.”
As for the 12 September showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up a weight to take on Álvarez?
“I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter,” he said. “It’s my pleasure.”
Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital.
“I’m feeling great. I’m feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there’s a reason why I’m here,” he said. “In September I’m showing the world what greatness look like.”