Canelo defended his WBA, WBC, and WBO belts against Scull, who held the IBF title. Scull had picked up Canelo's old IBF belt after the champion vacated it last year. The judges scored the bout 115-113, 116-112, and 119-109, all in Canelo's favor.
The fight was a tough watch for fans. Scull moved constantly to stay out of trouble, while Canelo didn't push the action as much as expected. The result? Twelve rounds that left many scratching their heads.
Teddy Atlas, the well-known trainer turned analyst, shared his thoughts on The Fight podcast. He didn't hold back, offering a take that might raise some eyebrows.
"I know people are gonna crucify me for this, but if I'm nothing else, I'm gonna be consistent. I'm gonna say what I believe … I can see giving it to [Scull]. I can see the possibility of it being a draw or a one point win for Scull."
Atlas knows his view might not be popular. He added that he wouldn't have been shocked if Scull had won, but he also knew that was unlikely to happen.
"I'm not saying I would've gave it to Scull, I'm just saying I wouldn't have been shocked… I would've been shocked because I knew Canelo wouldn't lose the fight in this situation, they're not gonna give it to anyone other than Canelo."
Despite his comments, Atlas isn't upset with Canelo getting the win. He even said that if he watched the fight again, he might give Canelo the edge by a point or two.
"At the end of the day, I have no problem with Canelo getting it. If I wanted to torture myself and watch the fight again, I might even give it to Canelo by a point or two. I can see it either way."
Atlas did criticize Scull's approach to the fight. He felt Scull's style and behavior in the ring hurt his case for a win.
"Having said that, I wouldn't give it to him because I thought he lost the right to complain about being robbed … You lose the right to argue, you lose the right to get us to be on your side and feel bad for you, because of the way you went about it … You didn't behave the way we want to see a guy behave in order to take a title."
With this fight behind him, Canelo's next big challenge is already on the horizon. He's set to face Terence Crawford in a mega fight this September in Las Vegas. That clash promises to be a much more action-packed affair than his latest outing.