Canelo Alvarez faced off with Terence Crawford on Saturday night after an uneventful decision victory against William Scull at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The several seconds of that photo opportunity felt like the longest Alvarez had another fighter directly in front of him in the ring Saturday night.
His opponent, Scull, bounced around the ring for most of the 12 rounds, seemingly determined not to give Alvarez an easy target to hit. His movement frustrated Alvarez, the crowd in attendance and the broadcast team, as he mixed in little offense while circling the ring.
“For me, it’s a boring fight, you know, like a fighter, not try to … to win or just trying to survive,” Alvarez said in his post-fight interview. “I hate that kind of fighter.”
Coincidentally, Alvarez threw even fewer punches than Scull as the two combined for the fewest in Compubox history (445).
The difference in the fight was that Alvarez was more effective when he threw. From the second round on, Alvarez targeted Scull’s body and landed with efficiency. He connected on 53.9 percent of his power punches to Scull’s body, according to Compubox. Those were often single shots, as Scull almost immediately moved after absorbing a blow.
Scull seemed to find more confidence midway through the bout and won multiple rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards. The final tally was 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109 Alvarez.
The most memorable moment from Alvarez’s night in the ring came when he faced off against Crawford, one of the sport’s pound-for-pound bests, and teased their Sept. 12 bout at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Alvarez said he expects the bout with Crawford to provide more fireworks.
“I hope September … is another kind of fight,” Alvarez said.
(Photo of Canelo Alvarez and William Scull: Fayez Nureldine / AFP via Getty Images)