Canelo Álvarez vs. William Scull: May 3rd Fight Set
Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez defeated William Scull by unanimous decision in their May 3, 2025 super middleweight title fight at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All three judges scored it for Álvarez: 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109. The victory unified Scull’s IBF championship with Álvarez’s WBA, WBC and WBO belts, restoring Álvarez as undisputed champion at 168 pounds. Reuters’ fight report confirmed the result and the scorecards.
The matchup had been promoted as a four-belt unification bout. Álvarez entered after a unanimous-decision win over Edgar Berlanga, while Scull brought an unbeaten 23-0 record and the IBF belt he had won from Vladimir Shishkin, as noted in this pre-fight report. The contest also carried a specific history: Álvarez had been stripped of that title after opting to fight Berlanga rather than face the IBF’s leading challenger, Scull. The two finally met in Riyadh with all four major super middleweight titles at stake.
Scull used his height, reach and movement to make Álvarez work for openings. Álvarez followed him around the ring and focused much of his offense on the body. Reuters reported that those measured body shots landed in the second and fourth rounds, briefly putting Scull off balance. Scull answered with a right uppercut and a counter in the fifth, showing that he could interrupt Álvarez’s forward pressure even as the champion kept closing distance.
Álvarez continued to target the body through the middle rounds, including combinations in the seventh and a left hook near the ropes in the eighth. Reuters counted 40 body punches landed by Álvarez compared with six from Scull. That emphasis shaped the fight: Álvarez pressed and worked at close range, while Scull relied on movement and counters to keep the exchanges from becoming sustained inside battles. The pace was controlled, with neither boxer producing a knockdown.
The scorecards reflected different views of the margin. One judge had the bout close at 115-113, another scored it 116-112, and the third returned a much wider 119-109 card. All three agreed on the winner. The result gave Álvarez the IBF belt and made him a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion, after he had previously held all four titles in 2021. The round-by-round recap also described how Scull’s movement limited Álvarez’s power punching while the Mexican’s pressure and body work carried the scoring.
Scull suffered the first professional loss of his career and went the full 12 rounds, but all three judges scored the bout for Álvarez. Álvarez later characterized the bout as frustrating, while crediting himself with doing what was required to win. His performance was built on sustained pressure and body punches rather than the explosive finish many viewers expected. For Scull, the result ended his unbeaten run; for Álvarez, it restored the undisputed status he had lost when the IBF belt left his collection.
The official World Boxing Council recap likewise records Álvarez’s 12-round unanimous decision and return to undisputed champion. The DAZN Boxing highlights are embedded below for a look at the main exchanges and the body attack that helped decide the fight.
Sources
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
