Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has a purse bid scheduled for his IBF mandatory William Scull on June 6th. Scull’s management has reportedly requested the purse bid.
The IBF has ordered the fight as Canelo’s mandatory defense of their belt. His other three super middleweight titles, WBA, WBC, and WBO, will also be at stake.
Scull’s Rise to Contender Status Questioned
Boxing fans have questioned why the IBF has installed the 31-year-old Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) as Canelo’s mandatory, given that his best career win is against little known Sean Hemphill.
The IBF’s selection process for picking out a mandatory fight for Canelo leaves a lot to be desired. This fight won’t sell on PPV, as the Cuban-born Scull is unknown to casual and hardcore boxing fans. It’s not one that people will be eager to order on PPV at any price, especially if it’s in the $80+ range like Canelo’s last title defense against Jaime Munguia earlier this month on May 4th.
There had been speculation that Canelo would defend against his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga, and many boxing fans were unhappy about him potentially fighting the Mexican star. His resume is weak and barren of names, just like Scull’s, but at least he’s known to the boxing public.
Some believe it’s time for Canelo to start jettisoning his titles. This would free him from needing to defend against the different sanctioning bodies’ mandatory challengers, and he could focus on selecting contenders that the fans want to see him fight.
Canelo’s Popularity and Title Relevance
Canelo is popular enough that he doesn’t need to hold onto so many titles to validate him in the public’s eyes. The non-popular fighters need titles to give them credibility. Once a fighter has a large fan base, titles are there for adornment and are superfluous.
It would be interesting to see who the IBF would select to fight for their belt if Canelo tosses it, deciding he won’t be forced to defend against an unknown fighter who brings nothing to the table.
Canelo will look ridiculous in defending against Scull when he fails to defend his belts against David Benavidez and David Morrell.
IBF’s top 5 contenders at 168
1. William Scull
2. Vladimir Shishkin
3. Christian Mbilli
4. Edgar Berlanga
5. Diego Pacheco
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