Saul “Canelo” Alvarez owns a new slice of boxing history, though it’s probably one he’d rather forget.
The now two-time undisputed super middleweight champion was one-half of a fight that set a new record for in-ring passivity on Saturday night, as Alvarez (152) and William Scull (293) combined to throw just 445 punches for their undisputed title bout at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The paltry total represented the fewest combined punches thrown in a 12-round boxing bout in the 40-year history of boxing stat-tracker Compubox.
In addition, the 152 punches thrown by “Canelo” himself were the second-fewest ever thrown by a lone boxer in a 12-round bout tracked by Compubox.
Despite that dubious new benchmark, Alvarez won a lopsided unanimous decision over Scull to once again become undisputed champion and set the stage for a massive Sept. 12 showdown against fellow pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. The one-sided nature of the contest’s scoring reflected the bizarre — and often maddening — way in which Scull fought, which essentially amounted to avoiding engagements and throwing pitter-patter punches from the outside.
After a big boxing weekend that already saw Rolly Romero vs. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez nearly set new records for 12-round inactivity just one day prior, Alvarez’s performance drew a deluge of criticism from the boxing world, including from the opponent he nearly signed on to face instead of Scull: YouTuber turned big-bout boxer Jake Paul.
Some of the reaction to Alvarez’s unfortunate history-making win over Scull can be seen below.
5/3 DAZN- Canelo W 12 Scull
following last night’s low output main & co-main events, unbelievably, Canelo (152) & Scull (293) combined to land 445 punches, the FEWEST in a 12-round fight in CompuBox history.— CompuBox (@CompuBox) May 4, 2025
CORRECTION:
FEWEST COMBINED PUNCHES THROWN IN A 12-ROUND FIGHT (NOT LANDED)
445- Canelo (152) Scull (293)
459- Wilder (204) Parker (255)
473- Ibragimov (245) Briggs (228)
490- Garcia (210) Romero (280)
499- Haney (214) Garcia (285)— CompuBox (@CompuBox) May 4, 2025
5/3 DAZN- Canelo W 12 Scull
no these are not scores from last week’s Masters. They’re round by round punches landed. Scull landed single digits in all 12 rounds. Canelo landed single digits in 11 of 12 rounds. FORE!!! pic.twitter.com/EbQK7lpKFF— CompuBox (@CompuBox) May 4, 2025
Canelo-Scull combine to throw just 445 punches — breaking the all-time @CompuBox record for least punches thrown in a 12-round fight
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) May 4, 2025
Canelo-Jake Paul would have been infinitely more interesting than that
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) May 4, 2025
This weekend’s marquee shows have produced the number 1 (Canelo-Scull), number 4 (Garcia-Romero) and number 6 (Haney Ramirez) fights for lowest combined punches thrown in a 12-rounder tracked by @CompuBox. It’s now up to Inoue and Espinoza to salvage a most snooze-worthy period.
— Lee Groves (@LeeGrovesBoxing) May 4, 2025
Embarrassing
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 4, 2025
I’m gonna need therapy after that fight. #CaneloScull#boxing
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) May 4, 2025
im over the “happy to be here” shit with canelo
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) May 4, 2025
Ok I’m not saying dude not running but I am saying if this dude was the A side and the big superstar he would win this fight off this
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) May 4, 2025
Any rappersathletes, Anybody who tryna lose money hit my line for Canelo and Bud fight Im betting whatever!!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) May 4, 2025
Don’t count Bud out from hurting or stopping him either
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) May 4, 2025
I don’t ever wana see Scull again.
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) May 4, 2025
Continues the Cinco de Mayo stretch of massive purses, few punches. Once might be a coincidence, the multiple weekend bouts may indicate a trend of take the money and run. https://t.co/TpsVuLYFKN
— Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) May 4, 2025
Even if you think Canelo legitimately won that fight, you gotta like Crawford’s chances in September if not outright picking him to win
— Douglass Fischer (@dougiefischer) May 4, 2025
Per @CompuBox: Canelo’s 152 thrown punches were the 2nd fewest in a 12-round fight in CompuBox’s 40-year history and 15k+ fights tracked. And he still won easily against a track star. #boxing#CaneloScull
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) May 4, 2025
Scull fought to survive but be mad at both of them. Takes two to shit the ring like that. #boxing
— Lou DiBella🥊 (@loudibella) May 4, 2025
Hope they do a better job with honoring Mexican Independence Day after turning this weekend into Cinco de Mayonnaise with the garbage they’ve peddled the past 30+ hours. https://t.co/r2VlL1TBno
— Jake Donovan (@JakeNDaBox) May 4, 2025
After Fatal Fury & Canelo vs Scull, Inoue now has a chance to become the new face of boxing!!! Disappointing back 2 back events. #CaneloSkull#FatalFury#GarciaRomero#InoueCardenas
— Gabriel Rosado 🇵🇷🇺🇸 (@KingGabRosado) May 4, 2025
Catch full results, highlights and play-by-play from Saturday’s Alvarez vs. Scull event here.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez owns a new slice of boxing history, though it’s probably one he’d rather forget.
The now two-time undisputed super middleweight champion was one-half of a fight that set a new record for in-ring passivity on Saturday night, as Alvarez (152) and William Scull (293) combined to throw just 445 punches for their undisputed title bout at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The paltry total represented the fewest combined punches thrown in a 12-round boxing bout in the 40-year history of boxing stat-tracker Compubox.
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In addition, the 152 punches thrown by “Canelo” himself were the second-fewest ever thrown by a lone boxer in a 12-round bout tracked by Compubox.
Despite that dubious new benchmark, Alvarez won a lopsided unanimous decision over Scull to once again become undisputed champion and set the stage for a massive Sept. 12 showdown against fellow pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. The one-sided nature of the contest’s scoring reflected the bizarre — and often maddening — way in which Scull fought, which essentially amounted to avoiding engagements and throwing pitter-patter punches from the outside.
After a big boxing weekend that already saw Rolly Romero vs. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez nearly set new records for 12-round inactivity just one day prior, Alvarez’s performance drew a deluge of criticism from the boxing world, including from the opponent he nearly signed on to face instead of Scull: YouTuber turned big-bout boxer Jake Paul.
Some of the reaction to Alvarez’s unfortunate history-making win over Scull can be seen below.
