Saul Canelo Alvarez and some of the world’s finest boxers failed to deliver a decent round of action in four fights, during two nights in two cities over the long weekend.
Alvarez looked old at times, slow at times, bored at times but was never in any danger of losing his full undisputed world title fight against William Scull at super-middleweight. Scull moved and jabbed and then just kept on moving; he was there to survive and, amazingly, he entered the ring as a world champion. Both were poor.
The story behind the fight is far more entertaining, but just as frustrating, as the twelve-round bore in Riyadh. The fight took place at about 7am local time on Sunday and hopefully it never kept too many people awake.
Scull was gifted the IBF version of the world title when he was rejected as an opponent by Canelo back in 2023; Scull, a Cuban exile in Berlin, was then matched with Vladimir Shishkin, a Russian exile in Miami, for Canelo’s old belt; it was a comedy, a stupid move by the IBF. Scull won a forgettable fight and found himself in a lucrative undisputed position against Alvarez, who owned the other three belts and the Ring version; the Saudi boxing chest was raided, and Canelo was enticed to Riyadh for the fight. And nobody can blame him for that or Scull for running with his money.
It’s not the fault of the Saudi boxing regime that the fight was a stinker; Alvarez needs a dance partner, a man willing to try and win – Scull took the money, ran and ran and finished without a scratch in a truly forgettable fight. They averaged about four or less punches on target in each round. It was diabolical and both must take a bit of criticism for the dreadful fight.
The good news – well, hopefully the good news – is that Alvarez in victory will now fight Terence Crawford in defence of his super-middleweight belts in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium on 12 September. In the Riyadh ring, once Scull had posed with his family and Alvarez, there was a face-off between Alvarez and Crawford. It is fantastic that it has been made, it could be a fun week in Las Vegas, but there is the very real potential for a technical stand-off. The winner would be boxing’s king, by the way. Incidentally, the fight will be promoted by UFC maestro, Dana White, a new player in the Saudi boxing business. It will launch the new deal and could be screened on Netflix or DAZN, the regular production partner to the Saudis.
Crawford is the older man at 37, he is unbeaten in 41 fights and last summer he won the light-middleweight world title, a belt at 154 pounds. Alvarez, who will be 35 on fight night, has won a world title at light-heavyweight, which is 175 pounds, and has ruled at the super-middleweight limit of 168 pounds for a long, long time. Make no mistake, this is a super fight, but that does not mean it will be a classic. They are both too smart for that.
Some of boxing’s highest-profile fights have been incredible events and bad fights. Floyd Mayweather’s punch-perfect win over a lame Manny Pacquaio just never took off; the life was sucked out of the capacity crowd by about round four. It was a hard watch. Mayweather did exactly what he had to do, and this fight is no different: Crawford beats Alvarez with skill and Alvarez beats Crawford by not taking risks; the pair could box to perfection, never make a mistake and it would still be one for the purists only. It is still a super fight.
On Saturday night, Alvarez looked like a ghost of the rampaging champion that he has been for about 15 years. It was disturbing and what if, after 67 fights, he is starting to slip. Crawford was ringside and smiling; perhaps he saw decline and not just Alvarez having a bad night. It was too easy to forget that going in, Alvarez was the best fighter on the planet.
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The known and the unknown make the Alvarez and Crawford fight very special. What if Crawford is simply too small at the weight and Alvarez decides to crush him early? What if Alvarez is shot and Crawford is too fresh? There are enough unknowns to make it unmissable. However, Crawford and Alvarez are not stupid, and they have nothing to prove; all truly great fights need those two ingredients.
The night before the Alvarez fight in Riyadh, there were three odd and unsatisfying fights in New York, magically pitched in a section of Times Square. It was all part of the Saudi outreach business. There is another big show planned for July, and it might be in Central Park.
Not one of the three twelve-round fights even slightly delivered; the performances lacked passion, urgency, desire, highlights and that is rare on any night. Ryan Garcia lost on points to Rolando Romero, Devin Haney beat Jose Carlos Ramirez and Teofimo Lopez beat Arnold Barboza Jr. That is a powerful set of names. It was strange for three important fights, involving six good boxers to not produce a solitary memorable round. There has been, in the savage aftermath, a lot of talk about technical skills, quality movement, defensive styles. Nice talk, but the truth is a lot of very good fighters were poor in New York. It was a strange hitless weekend, totally forgettable, but a super fight was announced.
And then on Sunday, night three of a long Saudi boxing weekend, Naoya Inoue delivered a furious stoppage of Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas. Inoue is Canelo’s rival for the crown of best fighter in the business; on Sunday night he was dropped by Cardenas in the second and then stopped him in the eighth to retain his undisputed super-bantamweight world title. It was his 27th stoppage in 30 fights. Inoue never runs; he fights with his heart and guts. Even in this modern age, where rings can be conjured in the middle of Times Square, that still counts.
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