Boxing fans are looking forward to Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford in September. Alvarez first has to get through the challenge of Cuban fighter William Scull in May for the Undisputed Super-Middleweight Title. Alvarez vacated the IBF title after choosing not to fight Scull earlier. He instead fought Edgar Berlanga in September and earned a unanimous decision victory. This will be Scull’s first fight since defeating Vladimir Shishkin by unanimous decision in October.
Legacy
All the belts at stake include Alvarez’s WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, along with Scull’s IBF belt that he secured last year. Legacy is always the theme when an undisputed title fight is taking place. With a win, Alvarez would be the undisputed 168-pound champion for the second time. Retirement seems to be a topic of discussion, and we know there are not many fights left.
He is considered to be one of the greatest fighters of his generation, with 62 wins and just 2 losses (to the Hall of Famer Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Light-Heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol). Scull won’t be an easy test. He is a 23-0 fighter entering this bout. He did look more impressive than Alvarez did in his last bout.
Fight Time
This super-middleweight bout is set to take place on Saturday, May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, the fight will take place around 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday. This has been done to cater to fans back in the United States and Mexico who will be watching at the usual time.
How To adjust?
To overcome the challenge that the time difference may bring, Alvarez’s team plans to arrive in Saudi Arabia three weeks out. This will allow them to adjust his training time closer to when he’ll be walking in the ring. The last thing a fighter needs to be dealing with is jet lag.
Warning: Do Not Overlook
We’ve seen throughout history what could happen if an opponent is overlooked. There is no doubt that the Crawford fight will be the most anticipated since Mayweather vs Pacquiao. The Mexican champion just needs to take care of business on May 3, or 4, depending on where you are.
The Tale of the Tape
Canelo Alvarez
Nationality: Mexican
Age: 34
Height: 5‘ 7.5″
Total fights: 66
Record: 62-2-2 (39 KOs)
William Scull
Nationality: Cuban
Age: 32
Height: 5‘ 11.5″
Total fights: 23
Record: 23-0 (9 KOs)
Prediction
Alvarez is the favorite, and I believe he will win this fight. His last six fights have gone the distance. Scull’s best strategy will be to land a high volume of punches to score early instead of just trading blows. Alvarez can counter-punch like very few in the history of boxing and usually causes damage in the late rounds. Although he hasn’t finished a fight since 2021, his power is still devastating. Expect this to be a battle, with the scorecards all in favor of Alvarez after round 12. Then, we can look forward to Canelo vs Crawford.
