Super middleweight champions Canelo Alvarez and William Scull met today for their kickoff press conference in New York City to promote their May 3rd undisputed championship fight at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(Credit: Queensberry Promotions/ Ed Mulholland)
“The Item” Question
It was mostly just a typical Q&A session for WBA, WBC and WBO champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KO) and IBF champion Scull (23-0, 9 KOs). There was no trash talking between them. Where it got a little weird is when Turki Alalshikh questioned Canelo from the audience, wanting to know if he was going to capture the IBF title, which he referred to as the “Item,” to complete his collection of belts so he can then face Terence Crawford on September 13th.
Turki clearly wanted Canelo to say that he was going to capture the last belt from Scull and then face Crawford next in “The big fight.” He wanted to whet the appetite of fans and get them thinking about the much bigger match between Alvarez and Terence. Canelo chose not to speak on the fight with Crawford or even mention it. He wanted to focus only on the match against Scull.
“There’s one item missing from you. On the 3rd of May, will you get it back to be complete on the 12th of September in Vegas in the big fight [Crawford]? Are you completing the items?” said Turki to Canelo,
“The belt. I got you. Don’t worry,” said Canelo.
“That was the idea. To become two-time undisputed,” said Canelo Alvarez to Ring Magazine when asked why he chose to fight William Scull. “Make the best fights out there. I don’t know yet,” said Canelo about who he wants to fight after his match with Scull.
“I have a fight in May. I’m focused 100%. I’m focused on this fighter. I’m not going to take it [lightly]. I’m going to train hard and focus on William Scull. I don’t want to talk about other opponents. I’ve never seen him in person, but I don’t care,” said Canelo when told that Scull is a ‘big guy.’
“I have the experience. I’m a very strong fighter. I have a lot of knowledge and I have a lot of skills. I’m going to put everything there. I don’t need to be big to beat bigger guys,” said Canelo.
