Canelo Alvarez refuses to be drawn in on blockbuster Terence Crawford bout with focus fully on William Scull

Mexican pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez says any talk of an Autumn showdown Terence Crawford is firmly on the back-burner as he seeks to light-up Saudi Arabia on his Riyadh Season bow against William Scull in May.

Video game series 'Fatal Fury' has been used in collaboration with the latest batch of big-time boxing events headed by Turki Alalshikh, and last night in New York William Scull met the super-middleweight final boss Canelo Alvarez.

Their undisputed 168lbs title clash goes down in Riyadh on Saturday 3rd May, which sees Canelo boxing for the first time in the Middle East.

It also kicks-off a multi-fight deal that could take the four-weight world champion on to September and a collision with another pound-for-pound great-– and former undisputed welterweight champion - Terence Crawford.

Names such as Dmitry Bivol, Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr have been floated for the third and fourth fights of the lucrative Riyadh Season deal, but such plans will evaporate should the unbeaten Cuban, and IBF champion, William Scull produce create one of the biggest shocks of the 21st century, and dethrone the Mexican king.

"It’s going to be a difficult fight against a complicated style of boxing like the Cuban style. I'm going to try my best to hurt my opponent on May 3," Canelo said at the press conference.

"I’m not thinking about September; I’m 100% focused on Scull. Fighting in Saudi Arabia is something new for me, but I’m ready to fight anywhere because Canelo’s territory is everywhere worldwide."

Canelo is unbeaten in six contests since losing to Bivol in May 2022, a result which dented the Guadalajara man’s hopes of becoming undisputed at light-heavyweight.

The 34-year-old has not only been a professional for nearly 15 years, six more than Scull, but has also faced the far superior opposition ranging from Floyd Mayweather to Gennadiy Golovkin.

Scull’s biggest win arrived in his maiden world title clash last October, which ended in a narrow points win over the unheralded Vladimir Shishkin.

"I’m thrilled to be here and I’m ready to show the world that anything is possible," he said.

"Nothing comes easy in boxing, everyone knows that. Everything I’ve earned has been through shutting doubters up. I feel firm and sure of myself, and the winner on May 3 won’t be decided until the final round.

"I rely on my fundamentals, and I’ve sacrificed a lot to be here… I want people to know that no dream is unreachable - I’m a humble warrior that’s proud to represent my fellow Cubans and I’m ready to shock the world in Saudi."

Canelo is more often than not the betting favourite to win his fights and this time around is no exception with odds of 1/25 suggesting that he should come through the bout in relatively routine fashion.

Scull, meanwhile, is priced 12/1 making him one of the longest priced opponent to tackle Canelo since Avni Yildirim in 2021.

"I’m going to display my talents and I will shut everybody up,” Scull, who will be intent on defying his huge underdog status added.

"I feel really good right now, I rely on my skills, I’m ready for this fight and to give the fans a great moment which is what they deserve."

Canelo, on paper, has far more challenging assignments ahead but he refused to entertain the idea of fighting anyone in the Autumn let alone someone of Terence Crawford’s calibre.

"I like to be active," he added. "We don’t have a fight in September yet, we have this fight, and then we will see what happens later in the year.

"For now though, I am focused 100% on beating William Scull."

Shaun Brown

• Riyadh Season
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