Unified Super Middle Champion Canelo Alvarez will fight Christian Mbilli or IBF William Scull in May to help stay ready for September.
Canelo’s longtime coach/manager, Eddy Reynoso, told @Boxaztec7 that Scull (23-0, 9 Kos) and Mbilli (28-0, 23 ko) were two candidates who would be selected for May.
Why Mbilli? / Why Scull?
Mbilli would be Alvarez’s far heavier opponent because of his strength, high labor rates and non -stop aggression. He would be like a smaller, more compact version of David Benavidez, and would attack Canela Nonstop.
It would be an absolute nightmare for Alarez to fight Mbilli, but it would be a fun, competitive fight for watching while it lasts. You couldn’t turn off the victory for Mbilli, and at this point in Canel’s career it wouldn’t be big upset. His durability is so bad now, and he looks too much for his small 5’8 ″ frame.
None of these two fighters will attract many interests of fans from Canel’s followers around the world, but there is not much more to choose from. Canelo, 34, beat all the interesting candidates now that David Morrell and David Benavidez are no longer in the class.
Cuba born in Cuba is with a questionable unanimous decision of 12 rounds over Vladimir Shishkin October 19 in Stadthalle, Falkensee, Germany. Scull did not show much power or talent in that fight and was fortunate to win. Many boxing fans thought Shishkin was supposed to win.
Scull’s lack of striking power will be problematic if he dares to fight Canel because he is too weak to compete. However, he has good skills and may be able to steal later by rounds against Alvarez, as Edgar Berlang did in the last fight of the Mexican superstar on September 14th.
In the first half, the fight was one -sided, and Canelo completely dominated the inexperienced Berlan. But in the second half, Alvarez faded poorly, allowing Berlanga to come and enjoy some success.
Canelo must remain busy with preparations for defense of the Templar/hitter of Terrence Crawford in September. Staying sharply is important for Canelo because Crawford is high level with speed, ability to fight and mobility.
Crawford waiting
Interestingly, Crawford (41-0, 31 ko) will decide to sit and wait until September and will take the risk of entering a fight to Canelo after a year from the ring. However, Crawford has been fighting once a year since 2020, which did not affect him. He did not fight top opposition, and that obviously helped.
Crawford has fought against a good fighter of 2020, Israil Madrid, and has hardly won last August. The 37-year-old did not look good at all against Madrid, which is not a surprise because of his one-year discharge and a poor resume in the last six years.
