IBF super middleweight mandatory challenger William Scull has landed a plumb spot on the undercard of the title defense by Ring super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia.

Scull will be facing Sean Hemphill in that undercard at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas on May 4.

The largely unknown Scull became the IBF mandatory when he bested Evgeny Shvedenko. Since then, the unbeaten Cuban-born German-based fighter has patiently waited for his shot at the title.

“Next week we’ll be heading to Las Vegas for the final training session before William boxes in front of an international audience on the Canelo-Munguia undercard” explains AGON promoter Ingo Volckmann, adding: “It’s been a long road here too, culminating in the absolute world-class fight with the then unbeaten Evgeny Shvedenko, where William earned his role as mandatory challenger. Canelo will not get past us!”

It is believed that Scull, who has been preparing in Mallorca and also Berlin, is the back-up fighter to face Canelo, if for any reason Munguia is unable to face his fellow Mexican.

However, the opportunity to fight on such a big promotion should help Scull gain some notoriety ahead of a projected shot at the world title in the not too distant future.

Scull (21-0, 9 knockouts) left his native Cuba and headed to Argentina where he turned professional in 2016. After a couple of years, “El Indomable” moved to Germany where he began working with AGON.

The 31-year-old stylist holds wins over Gino Kanters (UD 12) and Deneb Diaz (KO 2), but his best win was the aforementioned over Shvedenko (UD 12) in July 2022. He has since stayed busy with two marking-time fights.

Hemphill (16-1, 10 KOs) was a solid amateur who regularly reached the medal rounds in U.S. national championships before turning professional in 2019. The New Orleans resident won his first 14 contests before being stopped by David Stevens (KO 8) on ShoBox.

The 28-year-old has since rebuilt with two inside the distance wins. However, this is a step up but that also represents a big opportunity.

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