Canelo Álvarez vs. Wiliam Scull Fight Set for May 3 After Jake Paul Talks Stalled

Canelo Álvarez is set to face off against William Scull in an undisputed fight on May 3.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, revealed the news on Saturday.

ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported Friday that Álvarez was initially finalizing a deal to clash with Jake Paul on May 3, but he changed his mind and completed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season instead.

Coppinger noted that the bout involving Álvarez and Paul had a "formal announcement imminent" before the change.

Most Valuable Promotions, Paul's company, released a statement criticizing the decision.

"MVP operates with integrity, transparency and respect for the sport, its athletes and the fans," the promotion said. "Unfortunately not everyone in the boxing world shares those values."

Álvarez is now scheduled to fight Scull, the IBF super middleweight champion.

Scull owns an undefeated 23-0 record with nine knockouts. His last fight was a victory over Vladimir Shishkin in a 12-round bout in Oct. 2024, claiming the IBF super middleweight title.

As for Álvarez, he's won five consecutive fights to improve his record to 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts. His last victory came against Edgar Berlanga in Sept. 2024 to retain his WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight titles.

While the fight between Álvarez and Scull wasn't confirmed until Saturday, it has reportedly been brewing for a while. Ring Magazine's Jake Donovan revealed on Jan. 2 that Canelo's team had contacted Scull's team regarding a possible fight.

After the fight between Álvarez and Paul didn't materialize, Canelo is now preparing to battle with Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a chance to regain undisputed champion status.