Canelo Alvarez Ridden above the finish line at the early hours of Sunday morning In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in doing so, extended an unwanted record.
By beating the former Beltholder of IBF Super Middleweight William Scull via a unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 119-109), the Mexican star has now made seven fights, 84 rpm, 252 minutes and three years Without signature stop victoryFor which he became renowned in the years he was crowned the face of boxing.
Canelo Alvarez and William Scull set a punch record on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Images Richard Pelham / Getty)
(Richard Pelham via Getty Images)
Is it important? People in the Canelo sector will not say. The 34-year-old has just triggered an agreement of four combinations (potentially extending to five) with the Riyadh season which will see him pocket $ 400 million $ 400 million, and his next assignment was fixed even before a punch was thrown on this very mediated boxing weekend.
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If you hadn't heard, it's Terence Crawford. Bud did not weigh north of 147 pounds once in his undefeated career of 41 fights, but he will now jump two divisions to challenge Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KB) for the undisputed world championship at 168 pounds on September 12 in Las Vegas.
We knew this before Saturday's fight in Riyadh, which finally started at 6:30 am local time to respond both to the United States and the Mexican public. Canelo and Scull fought like two men who had not had their morning coffee and simply expected that their accountants confirm that their combat checks had erased.
Nothing note occurred within 36 minutes of non-action, Compubox confirming the snooze-fest as a championship record. By launching a 445 fuels combined on 12 laps, Canelo and Scull displayed the least punches launched in a 12 -round competition since Compubox Records started 40 years ago – a race covering more than 15,000 fights.
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And to worsen things for the winner, Compubox also reported that Canelo was now second on the list of all time of a few punches launched by a fighter in a 12 -round fight (152 punches), with only the Immortal Devis Boschiero, throwing less (130 punches against Mario Barrios) in 2016.
But the biggest criticism of all is the lack of surprise to see this competition browse the distance from the championship. Since a TKO victory in the 11th round on the Caleb factory in 2021, Canelo has won with his venom of spite and on foot before. He is now going to a more conservative fighter, taking care of simple and easily telegraphic photos rather than an all-action pressure hunter.
Canelo Alvarez defeated William Scull in a frustrating fight to become twice undisputed average weight champion. (Images Richard Pelham / Getty)
(Richard Pelham via Getty Images)
At his peak, Canelo was a punker. He would make his opposition silly and panicked without the peace of a second of his constant bombing. If you signed to fight Canelo, you knew that you had to work hard as long as the fight lasted, but Scull barely knew how to bounce back around the ring to crown the 67th professional outing of the Mexican.
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“It's good, we have won. We are here with the title of champion,” said Alvarez, defending his style of victory. “I am a champion. I am a professional, so that's it, no excuse or anything.
“I feel good. Crawford is one of the best on the market and, you know, I like to share the ring with this kind of fighter. It's my pleasure. I feel good, I feel blessed. Things happen for a reason, and there is a reason why I am here. In September, I show the world what greatness looks like. ”
Records will display another victory for Canelo, but this version of the future Hall of Famer is not close to the one that has captivated sport. Perhaps a lack of potential successors is the reason why Canelo still holds the crown, despite the fact that it is no longer suitable.
Ryan Garcia was nicknamed that guys, but after failed drug tests and a Second defeat on his file came last Friday in the hands of Rolly RomeroThe arguments of “King Ry” weaken as his career develops. And with book superstars for Naoya Inoue book, Oleksandr Usyk and Crawford Always difficult to penetrate the world market properly And closer to the end of their career than the beginning, it is not clear which will then hold the mantle.
For the moment, it's still Canelo Alvarez. But only by default.
