BoxRec

CANELO ALVAREZ VS. WILLIAM SCULL - UNDISPUTED SHOWDOWN HEADLINES RIYADH SEASON CARD ON MAY 3

Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority, announced on social media that an undisputed showdown was finalized between Ring, WBO, WBA, WBC super middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and undefeated IBF champion world champion William Scull.

Their fight will take place in the morning on May 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - which due to the time difference will allow the audiences in the United States and Mexico to enjoy the fight on Saturday night, May 3.

This past Thursday, Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) signed a very lucrative four fight deal with Riyadh Season.

Should Canelo prevail with Scull, his upcoming clash with fellow four division world champion Terence Crawford will have the undisputed super middleweight crown at stake. That fight is slated to headline a Riyadh Season mega-event on September 13 in Las Vegas - with Allegiant Stadium as the target venue.

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 junior middleweight, would move up two weight divisions for a dream fight and a shot at becoming a four division Ring champion and a three time undisputed champion - after claiming undisputed at junior welterweight and welterweight.

Scull had recently advised The Ring that he was already preparing for the possibility of being called up for a fight with Canelo.

“I am preparing for May 3,” Scull told The Ring. “I am the other world champion at 168 pounds. There is no other opponent than William Scull.”

Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 5 super middleweight contender.

Canelo was the undisputed super middleweight king until he was forced to relinquish his IBF title when the sanctioning body tried to force a mandatory title defense against Scull, a Cuban export based in Germany.

The IBF belt was then claimed by Scull in a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over Vladimir Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) last Oct. 19 in Falkansee, Germany.

Scull had a close fight against a bigger Shiskin to win the IBF title, but showed speed, cardio and cuban class. It is going to take a once-in-a-lifetime performance to beat Canelo, but technically he should be a lot more demanding for Nelo than his last four opponents.

Canelo Alvarez to meet William Scull May 3 in Saudi Arabia

Canelo Alvarez, boxing's top star, will meet William Scull for the undisputed super middleweight championship May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh announced Saturday.

Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, signed Alvarez to a four-fight Riyadh Season deal Thursday. The first fight of that deal -- which will take place Sunday morning, May 4, to accommodate a prime-time U.S. broadcast Saturday night on Cinco de Mayo -- will see Alvarez look to regain the IBF title that was stripped of him last year after he declined to face Scull.

Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) was his mandatory challenger at the time and went on to outpoint Vladimir Shiskin for the vacant IBF title in October.

Mexico's Alvarez, 34, holds the WBC, WBA and WBO titles at 168 pounds. With an expected win over Scull, in what amounts to a tune-up for a Sept. 13 showdown with Terence Crawford, that superfight will be contested for the undisputed championship.

Alvarez's new four-fight deal with Riyadh Season was a stunning development that reshaped the boxing landscape just hours after ESPN reported he was in the process of finalizing a deal to fight YouTube star Jake Paul on May 3 in Las Vegas.

"I just fight real fighters, no f---ing around with Canelo," Alvarez said Friday in a Ring Magazine video.

Alvarez is coming off a dominant decision victory over Edgar Berlanga in September. Now, he turns his attention to Scull, an undefeated but relatively unknown challenger from Cuba who has quietly climbed the 168-pound ranks.

Scull, 31, holds a 23-0 record with 9 knockouts, though he has yet to face elite competition at the world level. Fighting out of Germany, Scull is a slick, awkward fighter who will be a massive underdog against the all-time great Canelo. Scull is rated No. 8 by ESPN at 168 pounds.

With the deal in place, Alvarez is set to fight at least three more times under the Riyadh Season banner. He's slated to fight Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas with plans for two fights next year in Riyadh in February and October.

The February fight, sources told ESPN, has three options on the table currently: a rematch with Dmitry Bivol to avenge one of two career defeats (the other came vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2023); Hamzah Sheeraz, who challenges Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight title Feb. 22; and Chris Eubank Jr., the middleweight contender who is son of the British star boxer.

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) has never competed outside North America.

Does anyone know what time this fight will happen?

Saudi is 11 hours ahead of the West Coast USA & Vegas. I suppose if they're looking at ppv it'll be normal us hours.

Thanks

Canelo is a savvy businessman. Good fight. Canelo by UD.

MUNGUIA VS. SURACE REMATCH FINALIZED - CO-FEATURE TO CANELO-SCULL RIYADH SEASON CARD

A source has advised The Ring that former world champion Jaime Munguia will get his shot at redemption.

Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) will enter the ring with Bruno Surace for a second time - with their fight taking place on May 3, as the co-featured Riyadh Season attraction to the undisputed super middleweight showdown between Saul "Canelo' Alvarez and William Scull.

Last December in Tijuana, in what became The Ring's Upset of The Year - Surace, with only four knockouts on his record, shocked the boxing world when he scored a one-punch stoppage of the very durable Munguia in the sixth round.

Prior to the fight, the unbeaten Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) was viewed as an easy opponent and Munguia appeared to be on his way to victory when he scored a knockdown in the second round.

In a shocker, Surace landed a counter that dropped Munguia on his back. The Mexican slugger was seriously hurt and was unable to beat the referee's count.

Since suffering his defeat, Munguia enlisted the services of veteran trainer Eddy Reynoso, who also works as the head trainer of Canelo. In May of last year, Canelo scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Munguia.

9 Ko's

I love a good pure boxer like Scull but some hardcore boxing haven't even heard/watch of Scull. I watch boxing everyday of my life for nearly 20 years. I have never heard of Scull until this fight was hypothetical.

Why would a casual care about this fight????? I'm a hardcore boxing fan & I don't give a hoot about this fight.

Canelo vs Paul would be way more interesting. If you say other wise you're lying to yourself.

Might as well rematch Erislandry Lara, at least hardcore fans would tune in.

Martin Bakole vs Efe Ajagba rescheduled for May 3rd in Riyadh

Martin Bakole will return to action against Efe Ajagba on the May 3rd Canelo vs Scull undercard

Well, so much for not asking for trouble. Lance Pugmire reports that Martin Bakole vs Efe Ajagba, originally planned for Riyadh Season’s May 2nd show in New York before Bakole’s knockout loss to Joseph Parker, will instead join Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull the following day.

I’ll reiterate my opposition to tossing Bakole (21-2, 16 KO) right back in the mix on just over two months’ notice. Not only did he get floored in violent fashion just two rounds into the contest, he was in absolutely atrocious shape, shattering the scales at 310 pounds. Ajagba (20-1, 14 KO) is a level below Parker, but he’s got genuine knockout power in his right hand and enough technique to drive it into Bakole’s dome if the big man isn’t back in form.

I just don’t see the upside to this. Bakole’s boogeyman reputation is already hanging by a thread, held up only by the unique circumstances that preceded his loss. Rushing back into a matchup against a dangerous but relatively low-name-value heavyweight, potentially without the time to actually get into peak physical form, jumps the line between bravery and self-destruction to me.

People underestimating Bakole W over Anderson, i dont know why. It was big one

StrapMeUp wrote: ↑16 Feb 2025, 13:36 I love a good pure boxer like Scull but some hardcore boxing haven't even heard/watch of Scull. I watch boxing everyday of my life for nearly 20 years. I have never heard of Scull until this fight was hypothetical.

Why would a casual care about this fight????? I'm a hardcore boxing fan & I don't give a hoot about this fight.

Canelo vs Paul would be way more interesting. If you say other wise you're lying to yourself.

Might as well rematch Erislandry Lara, at least hardcore fans would tune in.

Scull does fight similarly to Lara somewhat with the wide stance, and all that. He's not a Southpaw. Has a good overhand right, and jab, but doesn't seem to have KO power. I think Canelo having already basically faced better versions of what Scull is bringing to the table will win convincingly here.

But yeah like you I hadn't heard of Scull until I heard his name mentioned as a possible Canelo opponent. I've watched a few of his fights now. I figure he'll be a somewhat good warmup for Crawford, at least in terms of just facing a guy who's gonna be trying to outbox you. Though the styles aren't really all that similar.

This is good.

Bin the orgs hahaha

UNDERCARD INFORMATION

The undercard has been finalized for the undisputed super middleweight clash between Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and William Scull.

In the main event of the evening, Canelo will stake his Ring, WBA, WBC, WBO, world titles when he faces undefeated IBF champion Scull on May 3rd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

As previously reported by The Ring, former world champion Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) will attempt to get revenge when faces Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a co-featured rematch.

Back in December, Surace was a massive underdog when he scored a shocking one-punch knockout of Munguia in Mexico. The outcome would ultimately become Ring's Upset of The Year.

Heavyweight punchers Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) and Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) will collide in what many expect to be a shootout.

Bakole will look to bounce back after suffering a two-round knockout loss to former world champion Joseph Parker last month. Bakole took that fight on two day's notice after Daniel Dubois withdrew with an illness. Ajagba saw action back in April of last year, when he picked up a tough split decision win over Guido Vianello.

WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) will make a mandatory defense of his world title against dangerous puncher Ryan Rozicki (20-1-1, 19 KOs).

Jack will be fighting for the first time since knocking out Junior Makabu for the title in February of 2023. Rozicki will be coming back from a December draw with Yamil Alberto Peralta.

Also on the card, highly touted Olympian Marco Verde will make his pro debut against Michel Polina.

Verde won the gold medal in the 2023 Pan American Games at welterweight. He also won the welterweight silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics after losing the final bout against Uzbek Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev.

Cuban light heavyweight prospect Brayan Leon (6-0, 6 KOs), who is trained by Eddy Reynoso, will face Aaron Guerrero (11-3-1, 7 KOs). The more experienced Guerrero has never lost by knockout.

Great!!

They’re catering for US fans

If the card is going to be 2-7am in Saudi why not just do it in the USA. Throw some Saudi flags up or somthing…

gregregegg wrote: ↑23 Mar 2025, 15:14 If the card is going to be 2-7am in Saudi why not just do it in the USA. Throw some Saudi flags up or somthing…

Honestly.. what’s the point.

Was looking forward to watching Canelo fighting primetime.

What a joke. Why not schedule it in the evening so everyone can actually enjoy it?
Let’s hope each seat comes with a pillow.

Also means undercard is going to be fighting in an empty arena… unless all the crowd are flying in from USA which I doubt.

May as well as just done it on the States.