Boxing fans have reacted to the Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull boxing card.
The fight will mark Canelo’s first appearance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of his four-fight deal with The Kingdom. It is an undisputed super middleweight clash, as Canelo puts his WBA, WBC and WBO belts on the line, hoping to get Scull’s IBF belt. They were meant to fight last year, only for Canelo to get stripped. Alvarez opted to face Edgar Berlanga instead, as Scull boxed for the vacant belt. Scull defeated Vladimir Shishkin to win the vacant IBF title. Canelo knows a win makes him undisputed for a second time at 168. It also sets up an undisputed fight in September against Terence Crawford.
In the co-main event, Jaime Munguia faces one of the biggest fights of his career against Bruno Surace. It is a rematch of their clash last year in which Surace knocked out Munguia in the sixth round. This was a massive setback, as it was Munguia’s only other loss besides the Canelo bout. It also damaged his resume, as he was aiming to rebuild after signing with Top Rank. Munguia has been training with Canelo recently, as he knows he must come out with a win.
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Elsewhere, Martin Bakole takes on Efe Ajagba. Bakole is coming off a knockout loss to Joseph Parker. Bakole took the Parker fight at the last minute after Daniel Dubois pulled out. He was never in shape to take that fight, as looking back it may have been better to avoid that fight.
Bakole’s Loss
“I don’t think the fight should have happened, if I’m honest. I don’t think anybody did anything wrong. “But when you’re representing Martin Bakole, you’ve got to ask yourself [if it was the right decision]. For a long time, he struggled to get opportunities. Now he’s found his way in Riyadh Season. He’s developing a name, abrand.
“Obviously, there’s more money tonight, but he did it [on a day’s notice]. He took two flights, indirect, across Africa and landed [in the] morning [before the fight]. I think sometimes, you just need to take a step back and think you are doing. [He] probably [does not] know what day of the week it is. I think it was a bad decision,” Eddie Hearn
The loss to Parker meant his bout with Ajagba is no longer for the IBF Interim Heavyweight Belt, as it cost him a title shot. Ajagba’s record stands at 20-1-0, with 14 knockout wins to his name. His only loss has come against Frank Sanchez. Ajagba knows there may be no better time to face Bakole as questions remain over whether the latter has recovered from the Parker loss.
Full Card
Main event: Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull
Jaime Munguia vs. Bruno Surace
Martin Bakole vs. Efe Ajagba
Badou Jack vs. Ryan Rozicki
Marco Verde vs. Michel Polina
Brayan Leon vs. Aaron Guerrero
