Canelo vs Crawford should make up for a lost weekend

Hyped-up cards in New York and Riyadh failed to capture the imagination, Steve Bunce writes, but the September meeting between two fine fighters promises to be unmissable

- 

Saul Canelo Alvarez and some of the world’s finest boxers failed to deliver a decent round of action in four fights, during two nights in two cities over the long weekend.

Alvarez looked old at times, slow at times, bored at times – but was never in any danger of losing his full undisputed world title fight against William Scull at super-middleweight. Scull moved and jabbed and then just kept on moving; he was there to survive and, amazingly, he entered the ring as a world champion. Both were poor.

The story behind the fight is far more entertaining, but just as frustrating, as the 12-round bore in Riyadh. The fight took place at about 7am local time on Sunday; hopefully, it didn’t keep too many people awake.

Scull was gifted the IBF version of the world title when he was rejected as an opponent by Canelo back in 2023; Scull, a Cuban exile in Berlin, was then matched with Vladimir Shishkin, a Russian exile in Miami, for Canelo’s old belt; it was a comedy, a stupid move by the IBF. Scull won a forgettable fight and found himself in a lucrative undisputed position against Alvarez, who owned the other three belts and the Ring magazine version; the Saudi boxing chest was raided, and Canelo was enticed to Riyadh for the fight. And nobody can blame him for that, or Scull for running with his money.