Tapatío boxing star Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez returns to the ring on Saturday, May 3 to face Cuban William Scull for the undisputed super middleweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This marks Alvarez’s first ever fight outside of North America.

Alvarez, 34, currently holds three world championship belts: the WBC, WBA, and WBO titles. His opponent, 32-year-old Scull, holds the IBF championship with an undefeated record of 23-0 and nine knockouts, but has not faced anyone of Canelo’s caliber before.

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) has committed to a four-fight deal with the organizers of Saudi Arabia’s “Riyadh Season” event. The deal includes a highly anticipated clash with Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on September 13 (Mexican Independence weekend), assuming he defeats Scull. Additionally, two more fights are scheduled for February and October 2026 in Riyadh.

Despite a dominant win over Edgar Berlanga in September 2024, Alvarez faces speculation from boxing pundits about whether he is past his prime. While Álvarez has dismissed reports of a potential fight with YouTube star Jake Paul, such a match was a strong possibility before the Riyadh Season deal was signed. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and broker of the four-fight deal, has stated that fighting Paul would not be fitting for someone of Canelo’s stature.

The fight in Riyadh is scheduled for around 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, May 4, to coincide with prime-time viewership in the Americas on Saturday, May 3.