Former undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is slated to lock horns with IBF super middleweight champion William Scull on May 3rd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 12-round skirmish will dictate who will become the undisputed super middleweight champion. This will be Canelo’s first fight in his four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. 

However, amid all the excitement about Canelo’s next fight, chaos seems to have taken over the boxing world because of a certain decision from Canelo regarding the fight. What decision? The time for the main event! With over a month left in the fight, walkout time for the main event has been made public, and it appears fans aren’t exactly happy about when the fight will begin. 

Misinformation starts chaos

Earlier today, a popular name in the boxing alley, Ray Jackson, shared a couple of screenshots, showcasing the timing of the main event and the pay-per-view price for the fight. Per Jackson’s post, the Canelo vs. Scull fight will begin at 6 a.m. KSA, while the PPV will be $21 for the card. “Canelo Alvarez fighting at 6 am is crazy. Tickets are low as $21😂😂 this gonna be the lowest GATE ever for a Canelo fight,” Jackson quipped while sharing the screengrab. 

While Jackson’s post wasn’t factually incorrect, the problem lies in the way it was presented. His wording led many to believe that the fight would start at 6 a.m. in the U.S. In reality, the U.S. follows Pacific and Eastern Daylight Time, meaning the main event will take place at 8 p.m. PT and 11 p.m. ET. Despite this being an easy mix-up, Jackson’s post ended up misleading a number of fans into thinking they’d need to wake up at dawn to catch the fight.

Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull: Fan corrects misinformation

With such an obvious slip-up, most would catch the mistake, right? Well, this user didn’t, who saw the timing of the fight as a disrespect. “Man, this [is] so disrespectful 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦🏾‍♂️,” the user wrote. However, why would Canelo or the organizers try to sacrifice most of their profits by excluding the main source of PPV purchase for the sport? 

Meanwhile, the user felt the timings would cause the fight to perform badly in PPV sales. “I see this shit hittin’ 100k if that 😂,” the user wrote. The main reason many believe the Canelo vs. Scull fight might struggle to generate excitement is that Scull is seen as a heavy underdog — viewed by most as little more than a stepping stone for Canelo ahead of his highly anticipated showdown with Terence Crawford in September.

Another user suggested Canelo wasn’t bothered about when the fight starts or whether people will be able to watch it. “I don’t think he cares about that he is already making 100ms lmao,” the user commented. If that were truly the case, you’d expect the Terence Crawford fight to follow a similar setup. Instead, the Crawford bout is already planned for a grand stage — the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — signaling a much bigger event in both scale and anticipation.

Someone else was unhappy about the timings provided by Jackson but still claimed he would watch the fight. “🤦🏽‍♂️ can’t believe this s**t man I am gonna just pull an all-nighter come Friday might as well. This some bulls**t,” the user commented. As it turns out, the user won’t have to stay up all night. 

One user mocked Jackson, suggesting how could the fight have low PPV sales when Canelo is working with the savior of boxing. “He’s gonna do his lowest gate with the guy thats ‘saving boxing’ 🤣😭😭,” the user commented. However, just because Turki Alalshikh is involved, doesn’t directly mean it would be a success.

While everyone else seems to have fallen for the misinformation, this user was quick to point out Jackson’s mistake. “That’s KSA TIME, which would convert to 11 pm Est. Cmon man, can’t let your hate let overlook simple stuff like this,” the user wrote. Responding to another user, Jackson partly accepted his mistake, writing, “That’s Saudi time lol.”

That said, Ray Jackson’s slip-up seems to have fueled even more negativity around the Canelo-Scull fight, causing many fans to view the event in an unflattering light. The question now is — should Jackson issue a public apology for unintentionally misleading people, or was it simply a harmless mistake that doesn’t warrant all the fuss?