William Scull-Vladimir Shishkin: Deal Reached For IBF Title Fight, Purse Bid Canceled
William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin have reached terms for their vacant IBF super middleweight title fight.
AGON Sports and Salita Promotions confirmed to The Ring that an agreement was made ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled purse bid hearing. The session was canceled as a result, although neither a date nor location are yet in place for the ordered contest.
Scull is represented by AGON Sports. Shishkin is signed to Salita Promotions.
The winner will claim the IBF belt recently dropped by RING and unified 168-pound champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 knockouts). Scull was the IBF mandatory challenger, but Alvarez instead opted to face WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). Their bout will take place on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
With that prior announcement came the call for Scull and Shishkin to enter talks. Their bout was officially ordered on July 29, and originally due to head to an Aug. 15 purse bid hearing. The two sides asked for a five-day extension, which proved to be enough time to find common ground.
Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) became the mandatory challenger after a July 2022 points win over Evgeny Shvedenko. The title eliminator between unbeaten contenders saw Scull—a Cuban export based in Berlin—win a lopsided unanimous decision.
Just three fights have followed for the 31-year-old. The most recent came in an eight-round victory over Sean Hemphill on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight took place on the non-televised undercard portion of Alvarez-Munguia.
Alvarez-Scull was ordered by the IBF just nine days later. A purse bid hearing was ordered but Alvarez’s side repeatedly delayed the process. The session was canceled outright when it was alleged by Alvarez and TGB Promotions that a deal was reached.
That claim no longer held water once they failed to provide the proper proof to the IBF. Alvarez instead announced his RING, WBC, WBA and WBO title defense versus Berlanga.
Shishkin (16-0, 10 KOs) was the next highest ranked available challenger. His side agreed to commit to the fight and the negotiation process along with it.
The unbeaten U.S.-based Russian ccontender has been in the hunt for more than 18 months. He beat former titlist Jose Uzcategui in a Dec. 2022 title eliminator.
Just two fights have followed for Shishkin, most recently a March 24 win over Mike Guy in Detroit.
Shishkin is rated No. 5 at 168 by The Ring. Scull recently entered right at the No. 10 spot.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring.
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The post William Scull-Vladimir Shishkin: Deal Reached For IBF Title Fight, Purse Bid Canceled appeared first on The Ring.