Saul “Canelo” Alvarez secured a unanimous decision victory over William Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to regain the undisputed super middleweight championship. The bout, however, proved to be a rather forgettable affair, with Alvarez failing to deliver a dominant or spectacular performance against a highly mobile and defensive-minded Scull.
Fighting outside North America for the first time in his career, Alvarez entered the contest holding the WBC, WBO, and WBA titles. Despite the win, he struggled to land significant, impactful punches on his elusive opponent. The official judges` scorecards read 115-113, 116-112, and 119-109, all in favor of Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs).
Looking ahead, Alvarez is already scheduled for his next challenge, a highly anticipated clash against Terence Crawford on September 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Alvarez had previously unified all four major super middleweight titles back in November 2021 by securing an 11th-round technical knockout win over Caleb Plant. He successfully defended these titles four times before the International Boxing Federation (IBF) stripped him of their belt. This action was taken when Alvarez opted to face Edgar Berlanga instead of fulfilling his mandatory title defense obligation against William Scull.
Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) earned his position as the mandatory challenger by defeating Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant IBF title in October, a fight that resulted in a controversial unanimous decision victory. The bout against Alvarez marked Scull`s first defense of that title.
In the co-main event of the evening, Badou Jack successfully defended his WBC cruiserweight championship by winning a majority decision against Norair Mikaeljan. This fight was Jack`s (29-3-3, 17 KOs) first appearance in the ring in two years, following his 12th-round TKO victory over Ilunga Junior Makabu to initially claim the belt. Mikaeljan (27-3, 12 KOs), who held the status of WBC champion in recess, came into the fight riding a four-fight winning streak, dating back to a decision loss in November 2018.