Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez still hasn’t made up his mind whether he’ll vacate his IBF belt or go ahead with a defense against his mandatory William Scull.
To Vacate or Not to Vacate? That is the Question
The IBF has a purse bid set for Thursday. Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will hopefully soon decide whether to vacate or face Scull (22-0, 9 KOs), who few boxing fans are familiar with.
If Canelo does face the 31-year-old Cuban Scull, it will be interesting to see which network it will be shown on and what the asking price will be on PPV. That fight is not a $80+ worthy one; it’s more like a freebie in the eyes of fans. One of these promoters will be stuck paying for this showcase fight.
Canelo is still a popular fighter, but if he’s going to get his usual huge purse, this fight could cost someone money. Unless the event had a stacked undercard, Canelo-Scull has PPV disaster written all over it for someone. Maybe the Saudis will show interest, although I don’t know why they would.
Dan Rafael revealed on X that he contacted Canelo today, and he said, ”No decision yet.’ He’s been vacationing in Italy.”
Scull’s Recent Wins Highlight Obscurity
It would have helped if the IBF had ensured that Scull earned his mandatory position by beating someone good like David Morrell Jr., Caleb Plant, or Diego Pacheco.
Scull’s recent wins: Sean Hemphill, Christian Fabian Rios, Abel Nicolas Adriel, and Evgeny Shevchenko. I don’t know why the IBF felt that Scull had done enough to rate being named the mandatory. With Scull’s resume, I don’t think he belongs in the top 20.
Scull’s recent wins are against fighters that might as have come from a different galaxy because no one has heard of them. He gives new meaning to fighting under the radar, and that’s so bizarre that the IBF picked him as a mandatory.
The problem Canelo has is he’s run out of viable opponents that the fans want to see him fight. He beat Jaime Munguia last May in a one-sided fight, and he’s not interested in fighting David Benavidez and doesn’t seem eager to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol.