Scull Allowed to Take Interim Defense, Winner Faces Shishkin

The IBF will allow super middleweight champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) to make an interim title defense, but the winner will need to face Vladimir Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs). This is to clear up the questionable results of their previous fight on October 19th, in Stadthalle, Falkensee, Germany.

Scull, 32, was outworked and out-punched by Shishkin for 12 rounds, but the judges surprisingly gave the victory to the unbeaten Cuban. It looked like Shishkin’s victory, but the judges saw Scull as the winner. Shishkin’s management pushed for a rematch with the IBF and got their wish.

There’s not a lot of interest from fans in seeing Scull fight Canelo Alvarez or any of the other notable fighters in the 168-lb division. Hopefully, there’s no controversy in the second fight between Scull and Shishkin/

Correction: Scull will be allowed to take an interim fight, with the IBF telling Team Shishkin that they will be ordered to face the winner, I’m told. https://t.co/7H5FnwNEwx

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) November 26, 2024