WBC president slams Canelo fight: “It was shameful”

What was meant to be one of the year’s major boxing showdowns turned into a letdown. The super middleweight unification bout between Canelo Álvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) – making his debut in Saudi Arabia – and William Scull (23-1-0, 9 KOs)set a grim new record: the lowest number of punches thrown in a fight since Compubox began tracking data 40 years ago. Just 445 punches were recorded over 12 rounds.

Mauricio Sulaimán, president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), didn’t hold back in expressing his disappointment.

“Scull’s attitude was disappointing,” he said during the WBC’s Martes de Café press briefing. “When you’re right there, or even watching on TV, it’s clear. But being ringside...”

At times, the fighters went minutes without throwing a single punch. The average number of punches per round was just five – shockingly low for any match, let alone one of this magnitude. “Watching him shamefully avoid even the slightest exchange was disgraceful,” Sulaimán continued.

The Cuban challenger failed to land more than 10 punches in any round, and Canelo only reached that mark in the final round. “The dancing, the side steps... It was absolutely disrespectful on Scull’s part,” said Sulaimán. “Boxing is boxing. You can have a strategy to tire out your opponent, frustrate him, wear him down and then go for the win – but you’ve got to actually fight.”

Canelo’s Saudi debut

Sulaimán pointed the finger squarely at Scull for the forgettable performance. “He did nothing to win. He just tried to survive – and show us his salsa moves, which, fair enough, he’s good at,” he added. But he also criticized Canelo.

“Far from home, where the air is heavy and there’s no crowd – that motivation your fans give you, for any activity in the world... it wasn’t there,” he said.

It was the Mexican star’s first fight in the Middle East, far from his usual venues in Mexico and the United States – a factor Sulaimán believes had a visible effect. “There was no interaction in Saudi Arabia, no feeling, no buzz. It’s definitely something that needs to be analyzed. I don’t think Saúl had that extra push he needed,” he concluded.

This is the kind of fight that no one – neither those inside the boxing world nor its loyal fans – ever wants to see again.

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