IBF Orders Canelo To Defend Against William Scull; Fans Unhappy – ‘You Can’t Make This Up’

Canelo Alvarez has been told by the IBF to defend his Undisputed Super Middleweight Belt against William Scull.

Alvarez secured a victory against Jaime Munguia on Cinco de Mayo Weekend to retain his belts via a unanimous decision. The talks over his next fight has been centred around David Benavidez. The Mexican Monster has been the WBC Interim Champion at 168 for over two years. Canelo once again stated that the fight is only possible if he receives a big purse close to $200 million.

Benavidez will box Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 for the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Belt. That left Canelo with a shortage of opponents. A fight with Jermall Charlo is unlikely following the boxer’s recent arrest and release for DWI. A bout with Edgar Berlanga had been teased, but the demand to see that is very low. The same problem applies to a Scull fight. Despite being number one in the IBF rankings, he is not a big name.

His 22-0, with nine knockouts, has no big-name victories. Canelo has 28 days to agree on a fight before purse bids are called. He could equally vacate the belt and pursue bigger fights with Benavidez or Terence Crawford. The Saudis reportedly want to make Canelo-Crawford near the end of the year or the start of next year.

Alvarez did go through with his mandatory in 2021 when the WBC ordered him to box Avni Yildirim. However, that allowed him to set up a unification with Billy Joe Saunders. Canelo also went through with his WBO mandatory, beating John Ryder.  Since Alvarez already has all the belts, it makes no sense to face Scull. 

IBF Rules

“The Championships Chairman will notify the Champion and the mandatory challenger approximately sixty (60) days prior to the mandatory due date and the boxers must observe that obligation. The Champion shall negotiate with the leading available contender as designated by the Championships Chairman and the President. If they are unable to negotiate the terms of the bout within thirty (30) days, they have the obligation to proceed to a purse bid under the procedure set forth in Rule 9. (a)

“The Champion and the mandatory Challenger may not box any other contestant within 60 days of the mandatory due date. (b) A Champion’s failure to comply with this obligation will be sufficient cause to have the Championships Committee and Board of Directors consider withdrawing recognition of the title. (c) The Challenger’s failure to comply with this rule will result in the Championships Committee recognizing the next leading available contender as the mandatory challenger and moving the challenger to a position below #10 in the rankings for at least six (6) months.”

Canelo will most likely vacate the belt, giving the other names in the division the chance to fight for the vacant title. Vladimir Shishkin is the second-ranked name after Scull, making him a possible title challenger. However, there is a possibility that Alvarez could use step-aside money to secure a bigger fight before facing Scull. He has a big decision to make, given that he is at the latter end of his career. Based on the current perception, boxing fans do not want the Scull fight.