Canelo Alvarez ordered to face mandatory challenger

Challenger ready for a tall task

Scull, a Cuban who resides in Germany, turned professional in 2016 in Argentina and has fought out of Germany since 2019.

The Cuban featured on the undercard to Canelo’s successful title defense against compatriot Jaime Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, winning a comfortable, unanimous decision.

Scull defeated Sean Hemphill (16-2, 10 KOs) over a scheduled eight-rounds, dropping the American in the fifth.

Agon Sports, which promotes Scull, confirmed that the IBF had instructed Canelo to fulfill his mandatory obligations and face Scull via a post on their social media platforms.

undisputed title holder has yet to defend his mantle against an IBF-mandated opponent. The last time an IBF mandatory challenger challenged for the sanctioning body’s 168lbs title was in 2021, when Caleb Traux challenged then-titleholder Caleb Plant.

Canelo’s last mandatory obligation came in May 2023. When he faced the WBO’s challenger John Ryder in a homecoming clash in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The majority of fight fans would have preferred David Benavidez getting the nod. But Benavidez went up in weight to fight at light heavyweight. Undoubtedly  Canelo has been collecting some easy wins of late. He can very well defend his belt against a guy who most people don’t even know exists.