The International Boxing Federation has confirmed to World Boxing News that Canelo Alvarez has not vacated his IBF title.
Reports claimed Canelo had dropped the belt following a mandatory order to face undefeated number-one contender William Scull. The IBF has since moved to ratify that Canelo still holds the strap as of May 30.
“We have not received notification of Canelo relinquishing his title,” an IBF spokesperson exclusively told WBN.
The situation doesn’t mean Canelo won’t drop the belt in the coming days. However, reports that the Mexican superstar is no longer undisputed are premature. The super middleweight king has one week until the purse bid when the IBF expects a deal for Canelo vs Scull.
Previously, WBN speculated that Canelo may have had plans to face the 22-0 Cuban due to his appearance on the Jaime Munguia undercard earlier this month. Scull defeated Sean Hemphill over eight rounds after becoming a surprising addition to the T-Mobile Arena event.
Why Scull suddenly appeared on the card late in the day led to further talk that Canelo may want to get his IBF stipulation out of the way to keep all his belts intact. A planned Jermall Charlo fight is again off the menu due to out-of-the-ring activities by Canelo’s protective opponent. The collapse is the third time organizers have ruled Charlo out, and it could be his last. Therefore, Canelo facing Scull could be a means to an end for a December battle with Terence Crawford.
As always, Canelo is due out in September. Crawford is fighting for the unified super welterweight titles in August. Saudi Arabian Chairman Turki Alalshikh has made no secret that he wants Canelo vs Crawford in December. That scenario would give Canelo time to defeat Scull, potentially in Mexico this fall before lining up Crawford for December.
However, Canelo could negate the Scull order due to the German-based fighter’s profile not being significant enough and drop the belt altogether in favor of a different challenge.
WBN will know more within seven days, but Canelo remains undisputed- at least for now.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
