Saul “Canelo” Alvarez didn’t have much to say after his snoozer of a unanimous decision win over William Scull in Riyadh on Saturday night.
Scull was extremely defensive, moving constantly and staying out of Alvarez’s range for the majority of the fight. But Canelo didn’t exactly push the action either, and seemed content to allow his opponent to run away. The judges would award Alvarez the win via 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109 scores, but no one who watched the fight was impressed with what they saw.
“I did my job and I tried to put on a good show,” Canelo said to media as he left the arena.
When asked about what he discussed with Terence “Bud” Crawford in the ring after it was announced they’d fight on September 12th in Las Vegas, Alvarez admitted he was still thinking of the Scull fight.
“I said, ‘Hopefully we put on a good show in September, not like this,’” Canelo revealed. “That’s why I hate fighters like that. To put on a good show, you need two fighters trying to win, to do something. But I’m happy. I’m happy with the win, and that’s all that matters.”
Canelo admitted he was upset with the way Scull fought.
“A little bit,” he said. “I told him, ‘You can’t win a fight like that, fighting like that.’ He says ‘I’m sorry. It’s my first time. I just try to put a good fight and I’m so sorry.’”
That’s pretty different from what Scull was telling the press after the fight. But few media members were willing to entertain the idea that Scull beat Canelo. Most accused him of simply trying to go the distance, and Canelo seemed to agree.
“That’s a mediocre mind, because they come just to survive, to go to the 12th round,” he said. “That’s a mediocre mind. You need to put a good fight, a great show.”
He’s hoping to have a more aggressive opponent in Terence Crawford come September. When asked if he thought “Bud” might fight him the same way, Canelo had a simple response.
“I hope not, because the people deserve a good fight.”
