The biggest name in boxing makes his Riyadh Season debut on Saturday when Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez takes on William Scull in Saudi Arabia.
The bout will take place on Sunday morning local time for the benefit of the North American audiences. DAZN is showing the undisputed super middleweight clash worldwide.
Alvarez was previously in possession of all four major belts at 168 pounds but vacated the IBF strap when a mandatory obligation against Scull did not fit into his plans.
The German-based Cuban claimed the vacant title with a close unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Vladimir Shishkin last October.
Canelo’s plans have changed due to a link-up with Saudi boxing kingpin Turki Alalshikh. Clearly, it’s desirable for the Mexican idol to have all the belts to make proposed superfights, such as a mooted weight-surfing meeting with fellow pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford, that bit more appealing.
The expectation is a Canelo win with something to spare. But the manner of victory will also be important, with fans wanting a return to the merciless knockout hunter of a few years ago. Is this precisely the sort of narrative that Scull can harness to spring a huge upset?
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Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. William Scull odds, betting
Per BetMGM, Canelo is a huge favourite at -3000, with Scull as wide as +1200. You can get the draw at +2500 (+160.
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Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. William Scull prediction
It’s been six fights and three-and-a-half years since Canelo scored a knockout victory against Caleb Plant, a win that made him undisputed at 168 for the first time. Every fight since his May 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol has gone the distance and resulted in a unanimous decision victory.
There aren’t too many reasons to expect anything different here, with the caveat that Canelo represents a huge step up in class for Scull. There’s a chance the 32-year-old might find himself overwhelmed.
To a certain extent, Scull does feel made to measure for Canelo. At a shade under 6 feet tall, the IBF champ reactively holds his hands high when under attack. Broadly speaking, that’s a pretty sensible tactic, but Canelo is a brutal body puncher and should have plenty of opportunities to score with power and accuracy on his opponent’s wiry frame.
Scull also likes to back onto the ropes and spin away under pressure. Again, that’s a nice trick against most fighters, but Canelo isn’t most fighters. Even though he looks to have slowed a beat or two at 34, he cuts off the ring masterfully.
These tendencies mean Scull might find himself under eye-catching early assaults. If Canelo can’t find a showreel stoppage during the first half of the contest, the underdog will probably slip into Cuban-schooled survival mode. Only nine of Scull’s 23 victories have come inside the distance, so he lacks the equaliser to flip the script.
SN Prediction: Canelo UD 12 (+160)
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