The new two-time undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez, may have gotten his hand raised on Saturday night after the fight against William Scull. However, not everyone thinks he deserved the win, especially not Jeff Mayweather, the uncle and former trainer of legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather, who defeated Canelo back in the day. 

The fight was a sluggish, uninspiring affair from start to finish. William Scull appeared more focused on avoiding conflict than engaging, constantly circling away from danger. Meanwhile, ‘Cinnamon’ struggled to cut off the ring, failing to corner his elusive opponent. What followed was a 12-round snoozefest, marked by long stretches of inactivity and only the occasional exchange of punches.

Things were so bad that the fight set a record for the fewest punches thrown in a 12-round boxing match. According to stats from CompuBox, the pair threw a combined 445 punches, with Alvarez throwing 152 and Scull throwing 293. This even broke the previous record of 459 punches thrown in the Joseph Parker vs. Deontay Wilder fight. Canelo’s fans online have blamed the abysmal numbers on Scull’s overly defensive boxing style. 

However, Jeff Mayweather believes Scull wasn’t solely to blame—in fact, he suggests the fault may not lie with Scull at all. “I mean, Scull fought his fight,” Jeff Mayweather told The Mayweather Channel on YouTube. “To be honest, it seemed like Canelo got so upset that he was fighting that way that he didn’t do anything.”

When asked if Scull was the only one to blame for how the fight unfolded, Mayweather was quick to suggest, “[Canelo] got to take some of the blame because some of those rounds actually, Scull was winning.” Jeff Mayweather went as far as to suggest that William Scull would have been declared the winner of the fight if Canelo wasn’t who he is.

“He could have won the fight because I mean Canelo didn’t do anything either,” Mayweather told the reporter before adding, “If Canelo wasn’t Canelo and they were two guys that just coming up, Scull probably would have won that fight.” That’s perhaps the reason Canelo Alvarez is hoping Terence Crawford doesn’t do this. 

Canelo Alvarez hopes Terence Crawford doesn’t take up the William Scull strategy

Canelo was originally supposed to defend his IBF strap against Scull, but chose to relinquish it instead of fighting. It was the Terence Crawford fight that forced him to bring all the belts together again. Despite that, Canelo went into the fight, expecting Scull wouldn’t do what he had feared—run away, but unfortunately for him, Scull did exactly that. 

“I tried to put on a great show, but to put on a great show, you need both fighters,” Alvarez told Fight Hub TV. “At the end of the day, a win is a win.” With Terence Crawford stepping into the ring post-fight to confirm their September 12 clash at Allegiant Stadium, Alvarez hopes for a different kind of challenge. 

Crawford, known for his adaptability and aggression, has the tools to bring the fight. But Alvarez is clear about what he wants. “I hope not,” he said when asked if Crawford might follow Scull’s game plan. “The people deserve a good fight.”

Having said that, Canelo Alvarez might have won the fight in the ring, but outside of it, people seem to have varying opinions. He will have to put Terence Crawford away decisively to prove everyone wrong. But the question is, will he be able to?