William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten Vladimir Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF super middleweight title Saturday night at the Stadthalle in Falkensee, Germany.
The scores
– 116-113
– 116-112
– 116-113
Boxing News 24 scored it 118-110 for Shishkin. It was pretty one-sided, with Shishkin controlling every round and Scull holding a lot. The referee failed to warn or penalize Scull for throwing rabbit punches and hitting the bell, which he did several times.
It’s unclear what the judges saw in Scull to give him the decision, as he didn’t do much of anything other than hold down Shishkin and hit him with club blows while he was in the sling. It wasn’t pretty to watch.
Shishkin, 33, was the more active fighter, landing straight hands and initiating most of the offensive exchanges during the fight. The Cuban Scull was buzzed by a hard right hand from Shishkin in the 12th round and conveniently lost his mouthpiece, buying him some valuable time to recover.
Shishkin landed a lot of right hands clean all night, but Scull took them well due to his lack of power.
Neither fighter showed much power in their shots. Scull was throwing arm punches, but he had no power on his punches, even when he loaded up on his shots.
Based on how Scull looked tonight, he won’t be holding on to his IBF title for long, unless he’s similar, judging by what we’ve seen here. Edgar Berlanga has expressed interest in fighting for the IBF belt, but whether he can meet the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration rule is in doubt.
Berlanga is massive for the 168-lb division and will have a tough time keeping his weight within the 10-lb rehydration limit after weighing in.
Promoter Eddie Hearn Diego Pacheco, and he is the #4 IBF. He has the kind of power that will be a major threat to Scull if he can get a title shot against him.
Last updated on 19/10/2024
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