Canelo Alvarez, William Scull Reach Agreement; Purse Bid Canceled

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has reached terms with William Scull.

Whether or a not a fight comes of that agreement remains to be seen.

The Ring has confirmed that a twice-reschedule purse bid for the IBF mandatory title fight has been canceled outright. Both parties informed the sanctioning body that the hearing was no longer necessary.

AGON Sports confirmed to The Ring that said agreement does not equate an actual fight, despite Scull’s mandatory status.

Additionally confirmed by The Ring is that Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 knockouts), The Ring champion at 168, is still working out terms for his next fight. There is industry-wide speculation that he will return to the ring in September. However, no such deal is in place as this goes to publication.

Alvarez-Scull was ordered on May 13 but the negotiation period was brought to a halt after just nine days. AGON Sports & Events—Scull’s promoter—informed the IBF of the failed talks between camps and requested an immediate purse bid. IBF rules state that either party can call for a purse bid at any time during negotiations.

A decision to go straight to a hearing is normally exercised when it was realized a deal cannot be reached. Often, delays are granted when the two sides believe with more time can come an agreement. There are other occasions, where an A-side such as Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 knockouts) merely flexes his celebrity muscle.

The former proved to be true. It is still unclear what will be Scull’s next move, given a title shot is no longer in his immediate future.

Alvarez has yet to make a mandatory defense for the WBA or IBF titles. He was actually the mandatory as the secondary WBA titleholder when he faced and defeated Callum Smith in their Dec. 2020 WBA title consolidation bout.

One month later, Caleb Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) honored his IBF mandatory title defense in a Jan. 2021 win over Caleb Truax.

Alvarez defeated Plant via eleventh-round knockout in their Nov. 2021 undisputed showdown in Las Vegas.

Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) was named the WBA mandatory challenger in April. It was believed that the Nuyorican would be next in line for the 168-pound crown. Those rumors intensified after Alvarez’s May 4 win over Jaime Munguia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It was agreed that the IBF was next in rotation followed by the WBA.

A step-aside agreement iwith Scull would clear a path for Alvarez to be more selective with his next fight.

Alvarez has made the most successful defenses among any male undisputed champion in the four-belt era (four). That feat came in large part to the sanctioning bodies generally not enforcing their rules as they have with its other champions.

Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) became the mandatory challenger after a July 2022 points win over Evgeny Shvedenko. The title eliminator between unbeaten contenders saw Scull—a Cuban export based in Berlin—win a lopsided unanimous decision.

Just three fights have followed for the 31-year-old. The most recent came in an eight-round victory over Sean Hemphill on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight took place on the non-televised undercard portion of Alvarez-Munguia.

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