The only victories of note for Scull came in his last two fights in 2024 when he outpointed American journeyman Sean Hemphill in an eight-round bout (on the Alvarez-Jaime Munguia pay-per-view undercard) before edging out the unbeaten Shishkin in a less-than-inspiring performance.

Terence Crawford confronted the victor in the ring, and that brought the announcement he and Álvarez will face off on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas: This battle is a long time coming given Crawford and Canelo's respective places within the sport. Bleacher Report's Lyle Fitzsimmons ranked them as the No. 3 and 6 pound-for-pound boxers in the world.