Canelo Alvarez may still be the face of boxing, but the crown no longer fits

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez cantered over the finish line in the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in doing so, extended an unwanted record.

In beating former IBF super middleweight beltholder William Scull via unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 119-109), the Mexican has now gone seven fights, 84 rounds, 252 minutes, or three and a half years without a signature stoppage victory — one that he became renowned for in the years when he was crowned the “face” of boxing.

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Does it matter? Those in the “Canelo” business will argue not. The 34-year-old just triggered a four-fight deal (potentially extending to five) with Riyadh Season that will see him pocket a reported and astounding $400 million in the process, and his next assignment was set even before a punch was thrown across this much-hyped weekend of boxing action.

If you hadn’t heard — it’s Terence Crawford. “Bud” has only weighed north of 147 pounds once in his unbeaten 41-fight career, but will now jump up two divisions to challenge Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) for the undisputed world championship at 168 pounds on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas.

We knew this coming before Saturday’s fight in Riyadh, which eventually started at 6:30 a.m. local time to cater for both United States and Mexican audiences. Both “Canelo” and Scull fought like two men who hadn’t had their morning coffee and were simply waiting for their accountants to confirm that their fight checks had cleared.

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Nothing of note happened across the 36 minutes of non-action, with CompuBox confirming the snooze-fest as a championship record. By throwing a combined 445 punches across 12 rounds, “Canelo” and Scull top the charts for the fewest punches thrown in a 12-round contest since CompuBox records began 40 years ago — a run spanning 15,000+ fights.

And to make things worse for the eventual winner, CompuBox also report that “Canelo” now sits second on the all-time list of fewest punches thrown by one fighter in a 12-round fight (152 punches), only beaten by the immortal Devis Boschiero (130 punches vs. Mario Barrios) from back in 2016.

But the biggest criticism of all is the lack of surprise felt seeing this contest go the championship distance. Not since an 11th-round TKO win over Caleb Plant in 2021 has “Canelo” won with his previously characteristic spite and front-footed venom — he has now transitioned into a more conservative fighter, loading up on single, easily-telegraphed shots rather than an all-action pressure fighter.

In his pomp, “Canelo” was a punisher. He would make his opposition look silly and panicked without a second’s peace from his constant bombardment. If you signed to fight “Canelo,” you knew you were going to have to work hard for as long as the fight lasted, yet Scull barely broke a sweat in bouncing around the ring to cap off the Mexican’s 67th professional outing.

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“It’s OK, we won. We’re here with the title as the champion,” Alvarez said, defending his style of victory. “I’m a champion. I’m a professional, so that’s all, no excuse or anything.”

“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 added. “It’s my pleasure. I’m feeling great, I’m feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason and there’s a reason why I’m here. In September, I’m showing the world what greatness look like.”

The record books will show another victory in the “Canelo” Alvarez column, but this version of the future Hall of Famer isn’t close to the version which saw him labeled as the “face” of boxing. Perhaps a lack of potential successors is why “Canelo” still holds the crown, despite it no longer fitting.

Ryan Garcia was dubbed to be that guy, but after failed drugs tests and a second loss on his record coming this past Friday at the hands of Rolly Romero, “King Ry’s” arguments are getting weaker as his career develops. And with pound-for-pound superstars like Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford still struggling to properly penetrate the global market and closer to the end of their careers than the start, it’s unclear who the mantle will fall on next.

For the moment, it’s still “Canelo” Alvarez. But only by default.