Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez will return to the ring in May to face William Scull, and former promoter Oscar De La Hoya has some thoughts on the matchmaking.
Cuba’s Scull, fighting out of Germany, was denied his opportunity to challenge for Canelo’s undisputed super-middleweight title last year. In response, the IBF stripped the Mexican and had Scull fight for the vacant belt against Vladimir Shishkin, a fight he won by decision.
Now, with Canelo looking for a fight before he clashes with Terence Crawford in September, Scull presents the opportunity to become two-time undisputed in the division. It has been signed for May 3 in Saudi Arabia as part of a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season.
De La Hoya, who had a bitter split with Canelo after years of promoting him, said on social media that it was an insult to fans – summing up his feelings with, ‘what the f**k?’
“He doesn’t give a s**t about his fans … You go out of your way not to give them the fights they want to see. Instead of fighting David Benavidez on Cinco De Mayo weekend, which is clearly the move to make because David’s coming off a great win against Morrell, you’re fighting William Scull? Really? What the f**k?
“You really said you won’t fight David Benavidez cause you don’t want to give him a payday cause he doesn’t deserve it and he’s talking s**t? You’re supposed to create bad blood and excitement for the fans to enjoy, but you won’t fight a guy because he’s being mean to you? Get the f**k outta here, Canelo. You’ve singlehandedly created the diva era in boxing. Other fighters look up to you and it’s your fault this is the softest, most money-hungry era of all time.”
A victory over Scull means Alvarez will put all four belts at 168 on the line against Crawford, who is set to move up two divisions from his last outing for the challenge. It is a fight De La Hoya, despite the bad blood, believes Alvarez will win.
