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Here are the full fight video highlights and analysis from the main event showdown between Canelo Alvarez and William Scull, which took place Saturday night.
The highly anticipated bout between Canelo Alvarez, holding a record of 63 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws (63-2-2), and William Scull, with a record of 23 wins and 1 loss (23-1), headlined the event on May 3. The fight was held at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was available to watch live via pay-per-view on DAZN.
Official Result: Canelo Alvarez defeated William Scull via Unanimous Decision (115-113, 116-112, 119-109)
Below you can find highlights from the fight and a detailed round-by-round breakdown.
Round 1: Both fighters started in an orthodox stance. Scull appeared significantly larger in the ring and initiated the action with a sharp jab. Canelo, known for his strategic approach, typically uses the opening rounds to gauge his opponent`s timing and style. Canelo began cutting off the ring early, landing a right hand over Scull`s guard. Scull moved laterally to evade as Canelo maintained pressure. Scull attempted his own right hand but it didn`t connect. Canelo advanced with relative ease, often without throwing punches, simply staying within power distance and effectively cornering Scull. Scull continued moving, occasionally snapping a jab before moving again. The first round saw minimal offensive action from either fighter.
Score: 10-10
Round 2: Due to the scarce offense in the opening round, a 10-10 score felt justified. Canelo threw very few punches, and Scull wasn`t much more active.
Canelo immediately resumed his forward march, prompting Scull to retreat towards the ropes and then pivot away. Scull seemed poised to counter, but Canelo provided no clear openings. Canelo landed a solid right hook to the body, following with a left upstairs that was blocked. Another body shot from Canelo was followed by a looping right hand that connected. Canelo`s power began to show, forcing Scull to move back quickly. Canelo demonstrated patience as he pursued Scull. Scull`s jabs weren`t finding their mark. This strategy seemed unsustainable for Scull; Canelo was freely walking him down, and Scull wasn`t even effectively winning exchanges from a distance. Canelo finished the round with a body combination at the bell.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 19-18 Canelo)
Round 3: Canelo continued to press forward, backing Scull towards the ropes where he landed a couple of body shots. Canelo seemed intent on targeting the ribs. He found the target again when Scull reached the ropes, landing a two-punch combination. Scull wasn`t doing enough to deter Canelo and wasn`t outworking him. They exchanged right hands. Scull increased his punch output, but nothing significant landed. However, Canelo wasn`t particularly active either, which didn`t make his performance look much better. Scull landed a looping right hook that Canelo rolled off, but it did connect – Scull needed to land those shots and not allow Canelo free reign. Canelo landed a body shot. Scull began spending more time in the center of the ring, which helped him land his right hand again. Scull became busier with his jab as Canelo appeared to take the round off slightly.
Score: 10-9 Scull (Overall: 28-28)
Round 4: Canelo marched forward, guiding Scull to the ropes to land body shots. This remained his primary target, aiming to wear down Scull`s ribs. He connected again with body shots when Scull was on the ropes. Scull failed to push Canelo back and wasn`t outworking him. They exchanged right hands. Scull upped his volume, but without landing clean punches. Canelo, however, was also inactive, which didn`t help the fight`s pace.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 38-37 Canelo)
Round 5: Scull landed a nice uppercut that split Canelo`s guard, showing growing confidence. Canelo seemed unbothered but continued to be inactive for long stretches. Winning by mere presence is difficult. Canelo had thrown only 38 punches and landed 12 by this point – a poor showing. Scull had landed 15 punches but thrown over 100, also inefficient. Canelo attempted a combination but found only air as Scull remained elusive. Canelo landed to the body, and Scull returned with his own body shot. Canelo landed a right hand.
Score: 10-10 (Overall: 48-47 Canelo)
Round 6: Scull opened the round landing his best punch of the fight – a shifting right hand that connected cleanly. However, he didn`t follow up effectively, and Canelo continued to pressure him. Both fighters exchanged body shots. Canelo opened up to the body, and Scull responded in kind. One wished Canelo would increase his activity level; throwing one punch every 23 seconds did not make for exciting viewing. Scull`s strategy of “a jab that gets parried every 10 seconds” wasn`t much better. Canelo swung and missed to the body.
The commentary team was notably poor. Stating that Scull “isn`t here to win,” despite him being the more consistently active fighter (even if ineffective), seemed heavily biased towards Canelo and was difficult to listen to.
Score: 10-9 Scull (Overall: 57-57)
Round 7: The commentary shifted to discussing mandatory challengers, seemingly to avoid commenting on Canelo`s underwhelming performance. Canelo kept marching forward, Scull kept moving – a repetitive cycle. The commentary suggested Canelo was dominating, but while he was likely winning, it wasn`t impressive. He had landed only 25 total punches through six rounds.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 67-66 Canelo)
Round 8: Predictably, this round followed the pattern: Canelo advanced, landing a body shot about once every 20 seconds, while Scull threw jabs that were parried. They repeated this sequence. Meanwhile, the commentary team verged on openly insulting Scull`s performance. Canelo cornered Scull on the ropes, leading to a brief exchange where Canelo landed to the body, and Scull`s counter was blocked. Scull continued dancing around as Canelo pursued. The commentary consistently claimed Scull “isn`t trying to win,” making the fight a dreadful watch.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 77-75 Canelo)
Round 9: The referee paused the action, urging the fighters to “let`s fight.” The commentary immediately implied this message was solely directed at Scull. It`s worth noting again that Canelo was throwing around 10 punches per round.
A low blow from Canelo resulted in a brief pause. He landed a light body shot. Nothing new or different had occurred in the fight since Round 3. Scull missed a right hand. The crowd showed signs of restlessness. Scull absorbed a body shot and moved away.
Actually, Canelo had thrown 58 power shots through eight rounds. He landed another body shot, a good one this time, followed by a combination. Scull moved around, showing some showboating. One commentator`s blatant bias in favor of Canelo became increasingly frustrating to listen to; others were only slightly less obvious. The round concluded. Just nine more minutes of this spectacle remained.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 87-84 Canelo)
Round 10: By this point, the commentary team had resorted to discussing unrelated topics, likely because there was little compelling action in the ring. Scull continued circling, while Canelo kept cutting off the ring and landing approximately one body shot per minute. Suddenly, Scull landed a good right hand as Canelo advanced! Canelo took it well, and the commentary team immediately downplayed its significance. It became increasingly clear they had a strong bias.
“His excellency brought you over here, do something! Make your country proud,” one commentator exclaimed, addressing Scull.
One hoped William Scull`s family wasn`t watching the broadcast, as they might feel compelled to defend his honor against the commentary. The round concluded with the same story. It felt like a nihilistic exercise – a Canelo round, who cares? It all felt rather meaningless.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 97-93 Canelo)
Round 11: The referee warned Canelo to engage more, and Canelo responded by suggesting the referee tell Scull the same thing. The reality was neither fighter was doing much. Canelo certainly could have tried harder.
Credit went to Daniel Jacobs, who joined the commentary and finally offered a balanced perspective, stating that Canelo was barely winning and could definitely be doing more. This was obvious to anyone observing the fight, except perhaps the unnamed biased commentator. That individual immediately countered, arguing that while Canelo wasn`t stellar, Scull wasn`t giving him anything to counter, as if countering were the only valid fighting approach.
This round mirrored the others. No significant shots landed. Canelo connected with some solid body shots as Scull moved around. Canelo landed a decent left hand as Scull charged in. The commentary team seemed slightly flustered by any suggestion that Canelo wasn`t performing perfectly, ardently defending their belief that he could do no wrong and that Scull was somehow the worst boxer alive.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 107-102 Canelo)
Round 12: It was clear Canelo was winning, and the fight was finally nearing its conclusion. Scull moved slightly less but absorbed another body shot. Then, he countered Canelo as Canelo began to increase his activity. The crowd became more engaged as Canelo started throwing power shots, and Scull fired back aggressively. Canelo charged in with a body combination.
Now, the commentary team discussed the possibility of a referee deducting points for inactivity, conveniently ignoring that Scull had thrown significantly more punches. Their lack of impartiality was shameless; they were heavily criticizing Scull, doing everything short of calling him a coward, right up to the final seconds.
One could only hope these commentators would not be calling fights again in the future.
Ultimately, Canelo won the decision. Let`s sincerely hope the potential fight with Bud Crawford is a more engaging contest than this one.
Score: 10-9 Canelo (Overall: 117-111 Canelo)
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Wesley Dunham 
Marcus Blakely