Canelo Alvarez issues statement after being stripped of his IBF world title for refusing to fight William Scull: "I can do whatever I want"

Canelo Alvarez shed light on his reasons for refusing to fight William Scull. The Mexican fighter's title defense against mandatory challenger and No.1-ranked IBF super middleweight contender Scull was overdue. The IBF stripped him of the title in July after Alvarez's next fight against Edgar Berlanga was announced for September.

Alvarez is still the WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion and he will defend those titles against Berlanga. Both men recently appeared on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game YouTube channel to promote their upcoming fight.

When asked if boxing would have been a different sport if champions were required to fight contenders in order of their rankings, Canelo said:

"Look, at some point, all the fighters [competed against the opponents chosen according to ranking]. Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Julio Caesar Chavez, Mike Tyson... Everybody did this. There are levels to this game. There are stars and there are superstars. They [added value to championships], championship belts did not make them. So it's very different."

He then explained the reasons for refusing to fight Scull:

"I came and built my career [by fighting opponents like] Miguel Cotto, Mayweather and everybody to build myself into the Canelo Alvarez that I am today. Right now, I can do whatever I want. And IBF is not going to come one day and tell me, 'Hey, you need to fight William Scull.' Who's Scull? I never heard of him. When they come and say that he's my mandatory challenger, I'm not going to do whatever they want."

Check out Canelo Alvarez's comments below (15:23):

This was the second time IBF had stripped Alvarez of his title. In August 2019, the organization stripped the Mexican of his IBF middleweight title after contract negotiations for his mandatory title fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko failed.

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Canelo Alvarez explains why he chose Edgar Berlanga as the next challenger

Fans have been eager to watch Canelo Alvarez fight David Benavidez and Terence Crawford, among other high-profile boxers. As a result, his decision to take on a rising contender in Edgar Berlanga came as a surprise for many.

Speaking further in the aforementioned interview, Alvarez explained why he chose the Puerto Rican boxer:

"I think I picked him because he is a good fighter. He is a strong fighter, a young fighter. And it's Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Always historically significant for boxing. I think it's also a good fight for the fans." [2:30]

Alvarez vs. Berlanga will headline the boxing event scheduled to take place on Sept. 14, commemorating Mexican Independence Day.