Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will step back into the ring on May 3 in Saudi Arabia. The Mexican star's opponent? William Scull, a Cuban fighter based in Germany who recently won the vacant IBF super-middleweight title.
Canelo lost his undisputed status when the IBF stripped him of their belt. The organization made this move after Alvarez didn't give Scull a shot at the undisputed crown. Scull then fought Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant title and won by decision.
The fight announcement came as part of Canelo's four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. If he wins, he'll put all four belts at 168 pounds on the line against Terence Crawford, who'll move up two divisions for the chance.
Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo's former promoter, didn't hold back his thoughts on the matchmaking. He said:
"He doesn't give a s**t about his fans … You go out of your way not to give them the fights they want to see. Instead of fighting David Benavidez on Cinco De Mayo weekend, which is clearly the move to make because David's coming off a great win against Morrell, you're fighting William Scull? Really? What the f**k?"
De La Hoya didn't stop there. He went on to criticize Canelo's reasons for not fighting Benavidez:
"You really said you won't fight David Benavidez cause you don't want to give him a payday cause he doesn't deserve it and he's talking s**t? You're supposed to create bad blood and excitement for the fans to enjoy, but you won't fight a guy because he's being mean to you? Get the f**k outta here, Canelo. You've singlehandedly created the diva era in boxing. Other fighters look up to you and it's your fault this is the softest, most money-hungry era of all time."
Despite his harsh words, De La Hoya believes Alvarez will beat Crawford if that fight happens. For now, all eyes are on May 3 to see if Canelo can reclaim his undisputed status at super-middleweight.
