Canelo Alvarez is back in the news again! He regained the undisputed super-middle-weight title, beating William Scull on a unanimous decision. That contest was played Sunday. This was Alvarez’s first fight outside of the United States and Mexico, planting the flag on historic ground in his storied career. This victory is for Alvarez a further step up his professional record to 63 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws, 39 KO.
In February, Alvarez announced a highly lucrative four-fight agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Seasons promotion. This step is a definitive signal of his efforts to increase his footprint in the boxing space. That win over Scull allowed him to unify the IBF super middleweight championship in addition to his WBA (Super), WBC & WBO titles. It set up what should be the welterweight division’s fight of the year later this fall against former division titlist Terence Crawford.
As expected the battle shifted as Alvarez regularly established his power in the ring. He really delivered a breathtaking 40 body blows while Scull got off just six. This victory showcased his strategic genius and utter physical skill in the match. Through the seventh round Alvarez was cracking hard combinations to Scull’s body. That blistering attack prepared the canvas for a calamitous conclusion, a fading-moment eighth round when he trapped Scull with a lead left hook along the ropes.
Even with Alvarez’s dominating presence, Scull was a tough customer to crack. In their fifth round match up, Clarke was able to penetrate Alvarez’s defense and score a vicious right uppercut. He then immediately countered by keeping Alvarez at bay with a stinging left hook. After Scull had started landing clean, damaging punches in the sixth round, Alvarez’s corner advised him to be careful. In turn, the Mexican champion erupted with a flurry of punishing hooks to the body.
“I hate these kinds of fights,” – Alvarez
Following the competitive bout, Alvarez shared excitement about his next planned fight against Terence Crawford. He acknowledged Crawford’s talent and competitiveness, stating, “Crawford is one of the best out there, I like to share the ring with that kind of a fighter. It’s my pleasure.” She has a highly anticipated matchup with Claressa Shields scheduled for this September. This matchup is set to be one of the best boxing events of the decade!
A former pound-for-pound king, Alvarez is working his way back to full championship status after a well-publicized fall from grace. In fact, it’s the IBF title Griffin lost last year when he opted to fight Edgar Berlanga instead of Scull, the IBF’s then-top contender. This recent win puts him back on top as the undisputed champion. At the same time, it serves to reestablish his place on boxing’s pantheon of great fighters.
