Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KO’s) will be aiming to become undisputed for the second time of his career when he faces William Scull (23-0, 9 KO’s) on May 3rd as announced by The Ring owner and Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh. The two will headline a Riyadh Season card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“The legend Saul Alvarez Canelo will fight William Scull in undisputed fight in Riyadh on the 3rd of May,” Alalshikh revealed on social media this past weekend. “If he [wins] the [May 3rd] fight, in September [he] will be undisputed again.“
Alvarez is currently the unified champion at super middleweight (168 lbs) and holds the WBA, WBC and WBO titles after his IBF belt was relinquished by the sanctioning body due to Alvarez opting to face Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KO’s) rather than IBF mandatory Scull. Scull would eventually claim the vacant IBF title for himself after a championship win over Vladimir Shishkin (16-1, 10 KO’s) last October.
Though becoming undisputed for the second time would be a historical feat for any fighter, William Scull’s lack of any notable fight except for his victory over Shishkin―which was a result steeped in potential bias or corruption―makes the upcoming May 3rd bout appear like more of a tune-up fight in the lead up to a more significant match-up against Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) in September.
While an official announcement heralding the fight between Alvarez and Crawford seems to be withheld until Alvarez makes it past Scull, it was all but confirmed by The Ring that the two will be heading into a September 13 bout at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Notably, however, while Canelo Alvarez will be gaining the opportunity to become undisputed twice on May 3rd while further remaining active, Crawford will apparently not take any fight in the interim and is set to jump straight into a fight at 168 pounds as he moves up two weight classes from super welterweight (154 lbs).
This is a curious development, especially considering Crawford’s last fight occurred last year in August, which signals the WBA 154-pound champion’s strict adherence to fighting once per year. Given he will be moving up two weight classes, doubts have arisen as to whether Crawford is actually that confident in his own ability or merely looking for a well-sized payday―with the backing of the seemingly infinite resources Riyadh Season can provide.
In the meantime, Crawford has already sent his congratulations to Alvarez for landing his undisputed fight against Scull on May 3rd, with his words suggesting he is eager to become undisputed for the third time of his career if he faces Alvarez in September:
“Good luck [Canelo] in your next fight,” Terence Crawford posted on social media following the announcement of the May 3rd Alvarez-Scull match. “I’m looking forward to becoming a 3x Undisputed Champion.“
Meanwhile, both WBC & WBO 154-pound champion Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KO’s) and IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO’s) have no fights scheduled for the next couple of months, suggesting Crawford has no actual interest in anything but a Canelo Alvarez fight and may be looking to retire following the September fight.
