05/04/25 01:29:00
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05/04 01:25 CDT Canelo Alvarez beats Scull to become undisputed champion again,
sets a date for Crawford
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: https://apnews.com/boxing
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