Perhaps, for Cuban-born William Scull, the moment he has been waiting for has arrived. As the IBF’s number one contender, he now has the opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion. But for that, he will have to deal with Vladimir Shishkin‘s challenge. The Russian boxer is currently the IBF’s number-two ranked contender. Per the latest available reports, the two will square off on October 19 in Germany.

The showdown is primarily an outcome of the recent developments in the super middleweight division. The previous incumbent of the title was none other than Canelo Alvarez. However, the title went vacant following Alvarez’s decision to depart from the mandatory title defense against William Scull. As a result, from an undisputed champion, the Mexican superstar became a unified one. He will now defend his remaining three belts from Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night. So Scull and Shishkin have just over a month to prepare themselves for the fight, which could potentially elevate their careers to the next level.

The Title Clash: How did we get here?

Several boxing news outlets shared the update on the William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin showdown. The tweet from @EverythingBoxing read, “CONFIRMED: William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin will meet for the IBF super middleweight world title vacated by Canelo Alvarez on October 19 in Falkensee, Germany.”

So just to give a glimpse into the background, it was in 2021, after he defeated Caleb Plant, that Canelo Alvarez became an undisputed title holder. Though he suffered his second career loss to Dmitry Bivol in the light heavyweight division, Alvarez went back to 168 pounds and defended his titles successfully against the likes of Gennady Golovkin, John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, and Jaimie Munguia.

However, sometime in May, he received instructions from the IBF to defend his title from William Scull. The duo received roughly four weeks to reach a fight agreement or, in its absence, face the purse bids. Canelo Alvarez decided to relinquish the belt itself. Amidst an array of potential line-ups, he finally settled to fight Berlanga, the WBA mandatory.

The Paths of William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin

William Scull earned his place as the IBF’s mandatory challenger in 2022 after defeating Russian Evgeny Shvedenko in the title eliminator. Incidentally, the Germany-based boxer won his last match on Canelo Alvarez’s Cinco de Mayo card against Munguia. His win over Sean Hemphill further solidified his position as a top contender. With 9 of his 22 victories secured via knockouts, the 32-year-old remains an unbeaten fighter.

Vladimir Shishkin, on the other hand, comes off a win over Mike Guy on March 28 this year. One of his key accomplishments remains the 2022 victory over former world champion José Uzcátegui. Like Scull’s case, it was also a title eliminator, and the victory placed him in line for a shot at the IBF title. 

In a lot of ways, it is a very interesting shakeup happening in the super middleweight division. Should either Scull or Shishkin win the IBF title and Alvarez defeat Berlanga, one might ask, will the Mexican superstar risk a fight with the new IBF champion to regain his undisputed status? Or would he move up a division to face the winner of the Artur Beterbiev–Dmitry Bivol clash? David Benavidez is also a light heavyweight champion. Or, who knows, he may finally assent to the much anticipated fight against Terence Crawford?

What are your views? Do you feel this IBF title fight redefines the 168-pound weight class?