‘Not a masterclass’ but Canelo defeat frustrating rival as ‘fight of the century’ next confirmed

Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) has set up one of the biggest fights in boxing history after becoming the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the World.

The Mexican superstar will meet the great Terence Crawford in September in Las Vegas after defeating the previously unbeaten William Scull by unanimous decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Crawford stepped into ring post-fight to confirm the bout, which the announcer dubbed ‘the fight of the century’.

Canelo vs Scull | SUN 4 MAY 9AM AEST | Canelo will look to regain the undisputed super-middleweight crown against current IBF title holder Scull. | Order now on DAZN

It was the first time Alvarez fought outside of the United States or Mexico, and it presented the 34-year-old with the unique challenge of fighting a little after sunrise local time.

He was also presented with the challenge of the jabbing, dancing Scull, who kept moving and was reluctant to get close to Alvarez.

Scull threw almost double the amount of punches, 293 to Alvarez’s 152, and landed 22 power shots to the head, compared to receiving just eight.

But it was Canelo’s defence, combined with landing 40 shots on the body, compared to just six from Scull, that convinced the judges.

119-109, 115-113 and 116-12 were the judge’s scores, all in favour of Canelo.

“A classic confrontation, this was not,” was the call from the DAZN commentator after the final bell.

Earlier, they also said that it “not a masterclass, not even a great performance” from Canelo, but he simply did what he had to do to set up the meeting with Crawford.

Scull tried to throw him off with his theatrics and constant moving, but ultimately paid the price for not being aggressive enough.

“If this was a blame pie, it’s 95% William Scull,” the DAZN commentator said after the referee told Alvarez to start fighting after the tenth round.

As the fighters embraced after the final bell, the commentator summed up the fight by saying, “Scull just touched Canelo more there than he did the entire fight”.

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Speaking on DAZN’s ‘On the Ground’ series ahead of the fight, Alvarez said everything was “all over the place” in his first few days of camp.

“But that’s why I came three weeks before the fight,” he added.

“Because I knew everything would be different. From time difference to the weather, which is really suffocating, it’s different.”

It was an adjustment early on, but Alvarez said he is now feeling “pretty good” and ready to return to the ring against the relatively unheralded Scull, who holds the IBF super middleweight title that was stripped from the Mexican last year.

Scull, who has a 23-0 record with nine knockouts, is more than willing to embrace the underdog status ahead of the fight.

In fact, Scull told DAZN’s Chris Mannix during the final press conference that he was “surprised” to even be getting this opportunity to claim Alvarez’s lineal championship and WBC, WBA and WBO belts.

ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know ahead of Canelo vs Scull

“I’ve been against many fighters who have underestimated me. Just like on those occasions, I’m here to prove everyone wrong,” Scull added.

But Alvarez was quick to warn the Cuban that this would end with a very different result.

“He says he’s going to eat me but the only thing he’s going to eat is this,” Alvarez said, raising his fists.

“Everybody always talks a lot of s*** but he’s going to feel something different for sure.”

HOW TO WATCH

Canelo vs Scull will be exclusively on DAZN PPV.

START TIME AEST

DAZN coverage starts: 8.45am

Fight card starts: 9am

Main event ringwalks (approx): 12.30pm

FULL FIGHT CARD

Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull – Super middleweight, for the undisputed title

Badou Jack vs Ryan Rozicki – Cruiserweight, for the WBC title

Bruno Surace def. by Jaime Munguia via unanimous decision – Super middleweight

Martin Bakole drew with Efe Ajagba – Heavyweight

Marco Verde def. Michel Polina via TKO – Middleweight

Brayan Leon def. Aaron Guerrero via points – Middleweight