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The Independent
04-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Canelo vs Crawford date and location revealed with Alvarez set for ‘fight of the century'
Moments after Canelo Alvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September. Alvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category. The decision had barely been announced before Turki Alalshikh, head of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, stepped into the ring and ordered it cleared out so that he could bring four-division champion Crawford out of the crowd to face Alvarez, who was wearing one belt around his waist, another over his shoulder and holding one in each arm. "Now we want to do the face off for the fight of the century, between the two great fighters in our generation." Alalshikh told the crowd, with the bout set for 12 September at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Alvarez is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight against Scull with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds. The 37-year-old Crawford (41-0) has won titles in four divisions from lightweight to light middleweight. Alvarez was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defence against Scull. He'd owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant. The fight against Scull didn't live up to the hype. The Cuba-born Scull entered unbeaten in 23 professional fights. He constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Alvarez, who later said he hated fighting that style of boxer. Alvarez was fighting outside the United States or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6,20am local time for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the US West Coast. The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing many more punches but not landing enough. Alvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. In the end, Alvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body. "It's OK, we won. We're here with the title as the champion," Alvarez said, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he'd plenty of time to prepare. "I'm a champion. I'm a professional, so that's all, no excuse or anything." As for the September showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up a weight to take on Alvarez? "I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter," he said. "It's my pleasure." Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital. "I'm feeling great. I'm feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there's a reason why I'm here," he said. "In September I'm showing the world what greatness look like."
New York Post
04-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Canelo Alvarez beats William Scull to become undisputed champion again
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Canelo Alvarez beat William Scull in a unanimous points decision Sunday to become undisputed super middleweight champion again. Alvarez is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds. Advertisement He was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defense against Scull. He'd owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant. Alvarez became an undisputed titlist in the division for the second time when the judges scored it 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican champion improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category. Advertisement The fight against IBF champion Scull didn't live up to the hype. The Cuba-born Scull entered unbeaten in 23 professional fights. He constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Alvarez, who later said he hated fighting that style of boxer. Moments after the decision was declared, the promotion for a proposed Sept. 12 fight between Alvarez and Terence Crawford began, with both men facing each other in the ring. Alvarez was fighting outside the U.S. or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. Canelo Alvarez delivers a left jab to William Scull during his middleweight title victory on May 4, 2025. Getty Images Advertisement The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6:20 a.m. local time (11:20 p.m. ET Saturday) for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the U.S. West Coast. The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing many more punches but not landing enough. Alvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. In the end, Alvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body. Canelo Alvarez poses with all his title belts after beating William Scull to become the undisputed middleweight champion again. Reuters Advertisement 'It's OK, we won. We're here with the title as the champion,' Alvarez said, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he'd plenty of time to prepare. 'I'm a champion. I'm a professional, so that's all, no excuse or anything.' As for the September showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up a weight to take on Alvarez? 'I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter,' he said. 'It's my pleasure.' Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital. 'I'm feeling great. I'm feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there's a reason why I'm here,' he said. 'In September I'm showing the world what greatness look like.'
Washington Post
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Canelo Alvarez beats Scull to become undisputed champion again, sets a date for Crawford
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Moments after Canelo Alvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September. Alvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout early Sunday Saudi local time against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category. The decision had barely been announced before Turki Alalshikh, head of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, stepped into the ring and ordered it cleared out so that he could bring four-division champion Crawford out of the crowd to face Alvarez, who was wearing one belt around his waist, another over his shoulder and holding one in each arm. 'Now we want to do the face off for the fight of the century,' Alalshikh told the crowd, 'between the two great fighters in our generation.' Alvarez is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight against Scull with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds. The 37-year-old Crawford (41-0) has won titles in four divisions from lightweight to light middleweight. Alvarez was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defense against Scull. He'd owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant . The fight against Scull didn't live up to the hype. The Cuba-born Scull entered unbeaten in 23 professional fights. He constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Alvarez, who later said he hated fighting that style of boxer. Alvarez was fighting outside the U.S. or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6:20 a.m. local time (11:20 p.m. ET Saturday) for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the U.S. West Coast. The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing many more punches but not landing enough. Alvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. In the end, Alvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body. 'It's OK, we won. We're here with the title as the champion,' Alvarez said, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he'd plenty of time to prepare. 'I'm a champion. I'm a professional, so that's all, no excuse or anything.' As for the Sept. 12 showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up a weight to take on Alvarez? 'I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter,' he said. 'It's my pleasure.' Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital. 'I'm feeling great. I'm feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there's a reason why I'm here,' he said. 'In September I'm showing the world what greatness look like.' ___ AP boxing:
Hamilton Spectator
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Canelo Alvarez beats Scull to become undisputed champion again, sets a date for Crawford
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Moments after Canelo Alvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September. Alvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout early Sunday Saudi local time against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category. The decision had barely been announced before Turki Alalshikh, head of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, stepped into the ring and ordered it cleared out so that he could bring four-division champion Crawford out of the crowd to face Alvarez, who was wearing one belt around his waist, another over his shoulder and holding one in each arm. 'Now we want to do the face off for the fight of the century,' Alalshikh told the crowd, 'between the two great fighters in our generation.' Alvarez is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight against Scull with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds. The 37-year-old Crawford (41-0) has won titles in four divisions from lightweight to light middleweight. Alvarez was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defense against Scull. He'd owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant . The fight against Scull didn't live up to the hype. The Cuba-born Scull entered unbeaten in 23 professional fights. He constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Alvarez, who later said he hated fighting that style of boxer. Alvarez was fighting outside the U.S. or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6:20 a.m. local time (11:20 p.m. ET Saturday) for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the U.S. West Coast. The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing many more punches but not landing enough. Alvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. In the end, Alvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body. 'It's OK, we won. We're here with the title as the champion,' Alvarez said, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he'd plenty of time to prepare. 'I'm a champion. I'm a professional, so that's all, no excuse or anything.' As for the Sept. 12 showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up a weight to take on Alvarez? 'I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter,' he said. 'It's my pleasure.' Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital. 'I'm feeling great. I'm feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there's a reason why I'm here,' he said. 'In September I'm showing the world what greatness look like.' ___ AP boxing:
The National
04-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
Canelo Alvarez eases past William Scull in Riyadh to set up Terence Crawford fight
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beat William Scull by unanimous points decision in a drab fight on Sunday morning in Riyadh to become undisputed super middleweight champion again. Alvarez, who was making his Saudi Arabian debut, is a four-weight world champion and entered the fight with the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds. He was stripped of the IBF belt last July when he declined to make a mandatory defense against Scull. He had owned that title since November 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant. Alvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored it 115-113, 116-112, 119-109 in his favour. The 34-year-old Mexican improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight division. The fight against IBF champion Scull didn't live up to expectation, leading to booing inside the arena. The Cuba-born Scull entered the ring unbeaten in 23 professional fights, but constantly moved around, dodging, shuffling and frustrating Alvarez, who was unable to press the action. Moments after the decision was declared, the promotion for a proposed September 12 fight between Alvarez and Terence Crawford began, with both men facing each other in the ring. Alvarez was fighting outside the US or Mexico for the first time and had to make plenty of adjustments, including to the time zone. The fighters walked into the ring and the anthems started around 6.20am local time for the main bout in Riyadh, timed so it was in prime time on the US West Coast. The opening rounds were slow with both boxers feeling for range and the intensity gradually lifted with Scull throwing more punches but not landing much. Alvarez, by contrast, stayed patient and was landing body shots. By the end, Alvarez threw almost half as many punches as Scull (152-293) but landed one more (56-55), predominantly power shots to the body. 'That's why I don't like to fight those kinds of guys, they come just to survive [and] just to do the 12 rounds,' Alvarez said of Scull, adding that neither the timing of the bout nor the quality of the contest was a problem because he had plenty of time to prepare. 'With this kind of fight, anything can be said [by the judges]. For me, it's a boring fight. A fighter is not trying to win, they just try to survive. I hate those kinds of fighters. "That's why I don't like them. I hope September [against Crawford brings] another kind of fight. 'But it's OK, we won. We're here with the title as the champion. I'm a champion. I'm a professional, so that's all, no excuse or anything." As for the September showdown against Crawford, who will be stepping up two weight divisions, Alvarez added: 'I feel great. Crawford is one of the best out there and, you know, I like to share the ring with that kind of fighter. It's my pleasure.' Crawford was in the crowd watching in the Saudi capital. 'I'm feeling great. I'm feeling blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there's a reason why I'm here," he said. 'In September I'm showing the world what greatness looks like.'
