Canelo Alvarez’s reign as undisputed super-middleweight champion came to an end earlier this month when he was stripped of his IBF title, and now the governing body have announced the two fighters that will be contesting the vacant belt.
The IBF have split opinion within the sport in the past couple of years for bringing undisputed reigns to an end, having stripped Terence Crawford of his belt due to his contracted rematch with Errol Spence, meaning he would be unable to defend against mandatory challenger Jaron Ennis.
Oleksandr Usyk also suffered a similar fate, as following his undisputed victory over Tyson Fury, he had to relinquish the IBF strap ahead of their contracted rematch, with Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua now set to do battle for the title at Wembley Stadium in September.
On the other hand, some fans have praised the IBF for their insistence on ensuring that number one contenders get their shots at titles, allowing deserving fighters to work their way up the rankings regardless of name or recognition.
Canelo became undisputed champion back in November 2021, when he stopped Caleb Plant in the 11th round to win the IBF belt, and add it to his WBA, WBC and WBO collection.
He has since defended those belts with points wins against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo and most recently Jaime Munguia, but found himself with a tough decision to make when the IBF ordered him to face William Scull.
With it potentially being a tough sell for his traditional September fight, the Mexican has instead opted to take on undefeated Edgar Berlanga, and in the process, has seen his IBF belt taken away and his status as undisputed subsequently lost.
The governing body have now revealed who Scull will face instead, announcing that he will take on Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant 168lb belt.
Shishkin is undefeated at 16-0, with 10 of those wins coming by knockout. Most recently he claimed a seventh round stoppage win over Mike Guy, and also holds a victory over Jose Uzcategui,
Scull is 22-0, with nine of his wins coming inside the distance, and claimed an eight round points win over Sean Hemphill on the Canelo vs. Munguia undercard back in May.
The duo have until August 27 to reach an agreement on the showdown, otherwise purse bids for the bout will be ordered.
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