The first fight of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s four-fight deal with Riyadh Season is set, according to Turki Alalshikh. Alalshikh announced on X that Alvarez, who holds the WBA, WBO and WBC super middleweight titles will face IBF champion William Scull on May 3.
Scull became champion in October with a unanimous decision win over Vladimir Shishkin. The title was available to be won after the IBF stripped Alvarez in September for failing to make face their mandatory challenger, who just so happened to be Scull. Alvarez instead fought Edgar Berlanga.
Cuban-born Scull has been perfect as a professional, piling up 23 wins with nine coming by stoppage. He was not viewed as an appealing challenger by Alvarez — or most fans — late last year but the idea of Alvarez becoming undisputed champion at super middleweight for a second time had enough appeal this time around, especially with the spectre of bigger fights on his new Riyadh Season deal looming.
The news comes after a wild week of news related to Alvarez. After reports that he would be fighting Terence Crawford in September in a fight between two of the greatest fighters of their generation with Alalshikh at the helm, a second round of reports claimed Alvarez was in negotiations with influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul for a May showdown.
The Crawford fight was then reportedly off as the deal with Paul was nearing the finish line. Things then suddenly flipped back the other direction, with the Paul negotiations collapsing and Alalshikh announcing a four-fight deal with Alvarez, with the Crawford fight apparently back on the table for September.
With a win over Scull, the fight with Crawford would have all four world titles on the line, adding an extra level of shine to a bout discussed heavily over the past two years.