Canelo regains his fourth belt against Scull in a no-punch fight.

Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez has reclaimed the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt to once again become the undisputed super middleweight champion (he held the titles of the Council, the Association, and the World Boxing Organization). He did so in a disappointing fight against Cuban William Scull, who had been training in Palma de Mallorca for the opportunity of a lifetime, unfortunately squandered.

If Scull's goal was to outlast Canelo for twelve rounds, not to feel any pain, and collect the purse, he achieved it. If Canelo's goal was to win another fight , even if it proved to be a cause for concern to his legions of critics, he also achieved that . But both fighters put on a show in Riyadh that wasn't worth waking up at 5 a.m. to see, let alone staying up late from midnight, the start time of the evening in Spain, which was designed around Las Vegas time.

Scull relinquished the initiative to the great Mexican champion, who stalked him with short strides, comfortable managing the distance, and took the first round without doing anything. Scull stirred something in the second, using his jab, while the Guadalajara native, with very few punches, sought a powerful one with minimal wear and tear. He looked like a predator stalking his prey with all the patience of the savannah, but he couldn't land a bite.

Meanwhile, the Matanzas native wasn't doing enough to win rounds, or at least not clearly. These rounds were very cheap , as the Jalisco native's punching rhythm was very slow. Scull could have scored on the judges' scorecards if he had landed a couple of punches to Saúl Álvarez's body, but he was limited to dancing around him and doing very little else.

We saw five rounds with barely any punches, a fight that deserved boos from the crowd, perhaps sleepy due to the unseasonable hour in the Saudi desert. Canelo landed a pair of shots to Scull's gut, who smiled in the first, trying to show he hadn't noticed. Time ticked by, and the judges kept scoring the 10-9 in favor of the Guadalajara native, with the Cuban's corner failing to make him understand that he had to go all in on his opponent if he wanted to pull off an upset and win the division.

"Don't let that bastard get too big, my son," Eddy Reinoso told Canelo midway through the fight. Scull didn't grow in the second half, beyond winning a couple of loose rounds, and Canelo did nothing for the good name of the noble art. In the ring, Terrence Crawford was watching attentively, thinking, "If Canelo fights like that, I'll take all four belts," even if he has to move up two weight classes. The brand-new Bivol, Canelo's executioner and undisputed light heavyweight champion (175 pounds), was also there.

After the seventh round, nothing hurt either fighter, unless they had a headache. Any preparatory sparring session is more aggressive than what we were witnessing. In the eighth, Canelo landed a left hand to William Scull's chin, perhaps the most obvious blow. The Cuban moved well, with interesting footwork, but that wasn't enough. That's not how you take three belts away from the great champion , who you know will have the judges' favor in the more closely contested rounds. His corner knew he could only win by knockout, just as all of us watching the fight knew that wasn't going to happen.

Scull will surely remember the tenth round, where he landed a good counter right hand to take him down with ease. With that little bit of effort, taking advantage of his speed and greater height, he could have done it, but he was more focused on dancing around the listless Canelo.

The final bell rang before dawn in Spain and just beginning to dawn in the desert, and the Cuban living in Palma squandered the opportunity of a lifetime. For his part, Canelo, a world boxing great, failed to give the public what they deserved. After the verdict, the master of world boxing, Turki Alalshikh , who is in charge of the Saudi Arabian entertainment industry with the rank of minister, called on American Terrence Crawford, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and who has moved up from welterweight to super welterweight, still two weight classes below Canelo.

The Saudi, flanked by both fighters, officially announced that they will face each other in Las Vegas on September 12th with all four of Canelo's belts at stake, the 168-pound belts. Despite the fact that the fight will be at Canelo's weight class, he apparently has an advantage, and fighting like this today he can't beat Crawford. We'll see.