William Scull-Vladimir Shishkin 168-Pound Title Fight Ordered by IBF
William Scull still has his first career title fight well in his sights.
The unbeaten mandatory challenger was ordered to enter talks with Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant IBF super middleweight title. Scull-Shishkin was officially ordered on July 29, with a 30-day negotiation period assigned to the process.
Scull is represented by AGON Sports. Shishkin is signed to Salita Promotions.
The winner will claim the title removed from the clutches of RING and unified 168-pound champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 knockouts). Fittingly, the development came as Alvarez announced his championship defense versus WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). Their bout will take place on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It is highly doubtful that Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) and Shishkin (16-0, 10 KOs) will have a fight date by then. What they both now have, however, is a clearer path to the title than was the case even a few months ago.
Scull 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 was the next highest ranked available challenger and agreed to commit at least to the negotiation process.
The unbeaten Russian–who trains in Florida and largely fights out of the greater Detroit area—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.
With the ordered title fight, both boxers are obligated to honor the ruling. IBF Rule 9.C states that any boxer who withdraws from the proceedings “will be dropped to below #10 for at least six (6) months.” Furthermore, neither participant can enter an agreement for another fight during the assigned period.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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