Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has yet to decide whether to relinquish his IBF belt or go ahead with the mandatory defence against William Scurll.
To move or not to move? That is the question
The IBF is scheduled to open the bid for the prize on Thursday, and Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will likely decide soon whether to pull out or face Scurll (22-0, 9 KOs), who is less well known among boxing fans.
If Canelo does face the 31-year-old Cuban, it will be interesting to see what network it will air on and what the asking price on PPV will be. This fight is not worth paying $80+ for, so it will be free in the eyes of fans. One of the promoters will likely foot the bill for this showcase bout.
Canelo remains the popular fighter, but the fight could be a financial strain if he's aiming for the usual big money. Unless the event has a big undercard, a Canelo vs. Scurll PPV would likely be a huge flop. Saudi Arabia might be interested, but it's unclear why.
Dan Rafael revealed on X that he had contacted Canelo today, and Canelo said, “I haven't decided yet. I'm on vacation in Italy.”
Scull's latest win highlights obscurity
Things would have been better if the IBF had allowed Scurll to earn mandatory status by defeating a strong opponent like David Morrell Jr., Caleb Plant or Diego Pacheco.
Scurll's most recent wins: Sean Hemphill, Christian Fabian Rios, Abel Nicholas Adriel, Evgeny Shevchenko. I don't know why the IBF felt Scurll was good enough to be nominated. With Scurll's resume, I don't see him cracking the top 20.
Scurll's recent wins have come against fighters no one has ever heard of and who seem to be from another galaxy. He's given new meaning to fighting under the radar and it's pretty odd that the IBF would even select him as their pick.
The problem for Canelo is that there are no opponents fans would want to see him fight – he beat Jaime Munguia in a one-sided fight last May, but has no interest in fighting David Benavidez and doesn't appear to be looking to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol.
