Canelo Alvarez doesn’t look particularly interested in William Scull — and who could blame him?

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez doesn’t look particularly interested this week — and who could blame him?

On Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Mexican superstar fights for the 67th time as a professional. In the opposite corner is an opponent in William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) whom he previously side-stepped — and in the process lost his IBF super middleweight title — due to a lack of appeal.

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Throw into the mix the fact that Canelo will start this fight as a -3000 betting favorite at BetMGM — the shortest odds he’s ever contested at as champion outside of a -4000 win over Avni Yildirim in 2021 — and you can see why there is a lack of fire burning inside the heart of the multi-weight world champion.

For Alvarez, 34, his career is now strictly business.

This weekend’s contest will trigger a four-fight deal (expected to extend to five) aligning Canelo and Riyadh Season for the next two years, reportedly making Alvarez $400 million in the process. But more importantly, Alvarez vs. Scull is likely to act as an expensive advertisement and precursor for September’s reported superfight between Canelo and Terence Crawford.

Alvarez has sleep-walked through media obligations this week without giving too much away — what could we possibly learn about the 168-pound unified champion that we haven’t already discovered over the past two decades?

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“There are always challenges,” he told a DAZN reporter. “Just because he isn’t known doesn’t mean he isn’t a good fighter. I know the type of fighter he is and what he will bring. He has everything to gain.

“That makes him even more dangerous. He knows how to use his reach. He’s quick, tall, strong, but as I say, it’s nothing new to me. I’ve fought against every style, every size, every type of strength in boxing, and I know it’ll be a tricky fight, especially in the early rounds. I’m someone who has to adapt to everything at this stage of my career.”

Canelo could have been describing any fighter. His professionalism and experience means that sound bites are at a premium in 2025. And as if he’s working a grueling shift on a factory floor, he’s doing just enough to satisfy his Saudi employers.

At least traveling to Saudi Arabia is a chance to tick a previously unoccupied box in Alvarez’s career. Only audiences in Mexico and the United States have seen him grace a ring over his 20 years of combat, yet Turki Alalshikh made it worth it for Alvarez to deviate from the norm.

If Scull were to beat Canelo this weekend, it would go down in history as one of boxing’s greatest upsets — think Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson, Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis, Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua. And it’s clear from Scull’s energy he plans to add his name to that list. Would we expect him to think any differently?

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“I don’t want to be disrespectful to anybody, but I’m here to win and that’s it,” the Cuban said Tuesday. “I’m going to eat him. Now, I’m focused on what I have to do. I’m very excited because I’m here to shut some mouths and do what I have to do on Saturday.”

Alvarez is within his rights to take a fight of this lesser magnitude on the promise of future plans. Despite the politics surrounding alphabet titles, becoming “undisputed” again is worthy of recognition, and an obvious cherry on the top of September’s potential bout with Crawford.

Alvarez’s résumé is already worthy of Hall of Fame status, and it’s a compliment to him that, as followers of the sweet science, we constantly pine for bigger tests — anyone outside the realms of David Benavidez or Dmitry Bivol was always bound to split opinion.

But as he awaits another bland showdown, lacking in eye-catching, highlight-reel knockout wins since his 2021 brilliance against Caleb Plant, questions are rightly being asked whether Alvarez’s star power is beginning to wane. Scull’s invitation to Riyadh could well prove to be a shrewd move in order to refresh that highlight reel and springboard Canelo into a must-see conclusion to his storied career.

They say the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry — just don’t expect the same this week for the business of Canelo Alvarez.