Canelo Alvarez will fight William Scull at an unusual time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout is set for 06:00 local time at the ANB Arena, a decision made to cater to the North American pay-per-view audience.
Alvarez, who holds all four super middleweight titles, agreed to this early morning start as part of his contract with Turki Alalshikh for four fights. The champion landed in Riyadh on April 14, giving himself almost three weeks to get used to the time difference and local conditions.
Scull, the challenger, chose a different approach. He's been in Palma de Mallorca for weeks, staying in the same time zone as the fight to prepare his body clock.
Mauricio Sulaiman, President of the World Boxing Council (WBC), shared his thoughts on these early morning fights:
"You can't fool the body's clock. Fighters need time to get used to the place. The air in Saudi Arabia is heavy. The food and schedule are different. Late start times can be a problem."
Other fighters have struggled with similar situations. Francis Ngannou felt sleepy before his 1am fight against Anthony Joshua in Riyadh. Ilia Topuria had to wake up at 2am and train at 3am for his 4am UFC debut in Abu Dhabi. Even Mike Tyson seemed off his game when he fought 'Buster' Douglas around 9am in Tokyo.
The Canelo-Scull fight is part of a busy week in boxing. In Times Square, the Fatal Fury event will feature Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez. Las Vegas will host Naoya Inoue and Ramon Cardenas battling for super bantamweight supremacy.
As the fighters prepare for their early morning showdown, all eyes will be on how they handle this unique challenge. Will Canelo's extra time in Riyadh pay off? Or will Scull's strategy of staying in the fight's time zone give him an edge? The answers will come soon enough, when the bell rings at dawn in the desert.
