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The first of two undisputed title fights this weekend will see Canelo Alvarez attempt to regain the IBF super middleweight title from William Scull in his first fight outside of North America.
Alvarez reigned as undisputed champion at 168 pounds from November 2021, when he defeated Caleb Plant to win the IBF title. He held that until July 2024, when the IBF stripped Alvarez of his belt for failing to face Scull when he become the sanctioning body's No. 1 contender despite a relatively unimpressive resume.
With a win over Scull, Alvarez would once again become undisputed champion at super middleweight, holding all four title. It would help set up what is expected to be a blockbuster bout against Terence Crawford later this year.
The Alvarez vs. Scull undercard will see a rematch between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace, after Surace handed Munguia his second career loss last December, along with a heavyweight matchup between the hard-hitting Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba.
WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack, 41, also returns to the ring for the first time in over two years, defending his title against top contender Noel Mikaelian.
Here's more on the Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull fight card.
Munguia wasn't going to let a loss to Canelo Alvarez in May of 2024 slow his career. He got in the ring four months later and bounced back with a 10th round knockout of Erik Bazinyan in his first fight with Top Rank.
Munguia opted to get one more fight in before the end of the year, scheduling a hometown bout against the little-known Frenchman Bruno Surace, who had just four knockout victories in 27 fights.
Munguia scored a knockdown in the second round of the fight and seemingly held a comfortable lead on the cards when in the sixth round, Surace floored him with a thunderous right hand that connected clean on Munguia's jaw and dropped him to the canvas, where the referee would count him out.
It was the second loss of Munguia's career following the defeat to Alvarez and earned The Ring's Upset of the Year in 2024, prompting an immediate rematch in the co-main event on May 3.
Two of the heavyweight division's top contenders clash in a battle to remain title relevant ahead of Alvarez vs. Scull.
Martin Bakole's trajectory toward a heavyweight world title hit a speedbump when he stepped in on two days' notice and suffered a second-round stoppage defeat to Joseph Parker in February, but a win over Ajagba could insert him right back into the mix for a title shot.
Bakole previously scored a career-best win over American heavyweight Jared Anderson in August 2024, knocking him down once in the first round before stopping Anderson in the fifth.
Ajagba is on a five-fight win streak since suffering his lone career loss to Frank Sanchez via unanimous decision in 2021, and in last outing just over a year ago, he won a split decision over rising contender Guido Vianello.
Ahead of the main event's undisputed title showdown, Badou Jack returns to the ring in defense of his WBC cruiserweight title against Noel Mikaelian.
The 41-year-old Jack has been out of the ring since February 2023 when he won the WBC belt with a 12th round technical knockout of Ilunga Makabu on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury.
Later that year Jack was named the WBC's "champion-in-recess" as he pondered over a potential shift in weight class. Mikaelian was then ordered by the sanctioning body to fight for the vacant title against Makabu, just months after his loss to Jack. Mikaelian stopped Makabu in the third round to win the title, but after failing to schedule an ordered fight against Ryan Rozicki, he too was named "champion-in-recess."
Jack was reinstated as full WBC champion in December and it was later announced he'd face Rozicki in a defense on May 3, but an injury to Rozicki forced him out of the bout and in stepped Mikaelian, hopefully closing the loop on the absolute mess the WBC created for itself.
Coverage of the May 3 card from Riyadh will begin on DAZN pay-per-view at 6 p.m. (CT). The main event ring walks for Alvarez vs. Scull are expected to begin at approximately 10 p.m. (CT).
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Canelo vs Scull fight card
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Alvarez reigned as undisputed champion at 168 pounds from November 2021, when he defeated Caleb Plant to win the IBF title. He held that until July 2024, when the IBF stripped Alvarez of his belt for failing to face Scull when he become the sanctioning body's No. 1 contender despite a relatively unimpressive resume.
With a win over Scull, Alvarez would once again become undisputed champion at super middleweight, holding all four title. It would help set up what is expected to be a blockbuster bout against Terence Crawford later this year.
The Alvarez vs. Scull undercard will see a rematch between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace, after Surace handed Munguia his second career loss last December, along with a heavyweight matchup between the hard-hitting Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba.
WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack, 41, also returns to the ring for the first time in over two years, defending his title against top contender Noel Mikaelian.
Here's more on the Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull fight card.
Canelo vs Scull fight card
- Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs); WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF super middleweight titles
- Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) vs. Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs)
- Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) vs. Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs)
- Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) vs. Noel Mikaelian (27-2, 12 KOs); WBC cruiserweight title
- Marco Verde (debut) vs. Michel Polina (4-5-3, 2 KOs)
- Brayan Leon (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Aaron Guerrero (11-3-1, 7 KOs)
Jaime Munguia vs Bruno Surace fight
Munguia wasn't going to let a loss to Canelo Alvarez in May of 2024 slow his career. He got in the ring four months later and bounced back with a 10th round knockout of Erik Bazinyan in his first fight with Top Rank.
Munguia opted to get one more fight in before the end of the year, scheduling a hometown bout against the little-known Frenchman Bruno Surace, who had just four knockout victories in 27 fights.
Munguia scored a knockdown in the second round of the fight and seemingly held a comfortable lead on the cards when in the sixth round, Surace floored him with a thunderous right hand that connected clean on Munguia's jaw and dropped him to the canvas, where the referee would count him out.
It was the second loss of Munguia's career following the defeat to Alvarez and earned The Ring's Upset of the Year in 2024, prompting an immediate rematch in the co-main event on May 3.
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Martin Bakole vs Efe Ajagba fight
Two of the heavyweight division's top contenders clash in a battle to remain title relevant ahead of Alvarez vs. Scull.
Martin Bakole's trajectory toward a heavyweight world title hit a speedbump when he stepped in on two days' notice and suffered a second-round stoppage defeat to Joseph Parker in February, but a win over Ajagba could insert him right back into the mix for a title shot.
Bakole previously scored a career-best win over American heavyweight Jared Anderson in August 2024, knocking him down once in the first round before stopping Anderson in the fifth.
Ajagba is on a five-fight win streak since suffering his lone career loss to Frank Sanchez via unanimous decision in 2021, and in last outing just over a year ago, he won a split decision over rising contender Guido Vianello.
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Badou Jack vs Noel Mikaelian fight
Ahead of the main event's undisputed title showdown, Badou Jack returns to the ring in defense of his WBC cruiserweight title against Noel Mikaelian.
The 41-year-old Jack has been out of the ring since February 2023 when he won the WBC belt with a 12th round technical knockout of Ilunga Makabu on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury.
Later that year Jack was named the WBC's "champion-in-recess" as he pondered over a potential shift in weight class. Mikaelian was then ordered by the sanctioning body to fight for the vacant title against Makabu, just months after his loss to Jack. Mikaelian stopped Makabu in the third round to win the title, but after failing to schedule an ordered fight against Ryan Rozicki, he too was named "champion-in-recess."
Jack was reinstated as full WBC champion in December and it was later announced he'd face Rozicki in a defense on May 3, but an injury to Rozicki forced him out of the bout and in stepped Mikaelian, hopefully closing the loop on the absolute mess the WBC created for itself.
You must be registered for see images
Canelo vs Scull fight time, date, how to watch
Coverage of the May 3 card from Riyadh will begin on DAZN pay-per-view at 6 p.m. (CT). The main event ring walks for Alvarez vs. Scull are expected to begin at approximately 10 p.m. (CT).
- How to watch:DAZN PPV
- PPV start: 6 p.m. CT
- Alvarez vs. Scull ring walks: approx. 10 p.m. CT
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Canelo vs Scull fight card
Continue reading...
