Saul “Canelo” Alvarez became a two-time undisputed super-middleweight champion on Saturday, outpointing William Scull to keep alive a super-fight with Terence Crawford.
Canelo, making his debut in Saudi Arabia, earned scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109, though the former card flattered Scull, who was reluctant to engage throughout and focused on being elusive.
Mexican icon Canelo, meanwhile, relied on intermittent power punches to the body for the most part, while stalking the 32-year-old Cuban around the ring.
With his victory, Canelo took the IBF belt from Scull, adding it to his WBC, WBA and WBO titles. The 34-year-old also handed Scull his first professional loss.
Canelo’s win kept him on track for a planned clash with fellow pound-for-pound star Crawford in September. It was already expected that the bout would take place in Las Vegas that month, and Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh said on Saturday that 12 September is the specific date being targeted, at Allegiant Stadium.
The fight will see Crawford, a four-division world champion, hit a career-heaviest weight to challenge Canelo for his super-middleweight belts. The American, 37, most recently competed at super-welterweight, though he is best known for his super-lightweight and welterweight endeavours, which saw him become undisputed in both divisions.
After Canelo saw off Scull in Riyadh, Crawford entered the ring to face off with Alvarez. Fans will hope that the admittedly contrived super-fight is more entertaining than Saturday’s main event at the ANB Arena.
“That’s why I don’t like to fight those kinds of guys, they come just to survive, just to do the 12 rounds,” Canelo said of Scull. “I hope September [brings] another kind of fight.
“With [tonight’s] kind of fight, anything can be said [by the judges]. For me, it’s a boring fight. A fighter doesn’t try to win, they just try to survive. They did even more [running] than I thought, but it’s okay, we win, two-time undisputed champion.
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“I feel great, Crawford is one of the best out there. I like to share the ring with this kind of fighter. Everybody is asking for the fight, my niño Turki Alalshikh wants it.”
Crawford added: “I’m feeling great, I’m feeling blessed, everything’s happened for a reason. September, I’m gonna show the world what greatness looks like.
“He did what he had to do to get the job done for what was in front of him. I’m the best, that’s why everybody’s gonna come and watch 12 September.”
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