NEW YORK – William Scull sensed he was being overlooked the second he set foot inside Radio City Music Hall for a press conference recently.

His name was in the brightest of lights, plastered all over an iconic venue in one of the world’s largest media markets. Scull was well aware, though, that he was considered by most fans, pundits and videographers in attendance as barely an obstructive obstacle in the way of the high-profile fight much of the boxing world wants to see much more than his fight with Canelo Alvarez.

Scull occupied this position because he holds the IBF belt that was taken from the Mexican superstar seven months ago, when Alvarez already had an optional defense of his titles scheduled against Edgar Berlanga for September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Because boxing is boxing, the 34-year-old Alvarez must fight a huge underdog to try to win back a title that was taken from him, just so that he can call himself the fully unified champion virtually everyone with common sense considers him.

This seemingly unnecessary scenario isn’t Scull’s fault, of course, nor is the Cuban-born boxer here simply to collect a check. Alvarez is listed by 30-1 favorite by DraftKings to beat Scull on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but Scull is convinced he will sabotage boxing’s most marketable matchup of 2025 – Alvarez versus Terence Crawford.

If Scull pulls off an epic upset, he will leave the ring at ANB Arena with the Ring, IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships and a reputation as the sport’s spoiler of all spoilers.

Guadalajara’s Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, are expected to square off September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas if Alvarez conquers Scull. Crawford is not expected to box before he could enter the ring to challenge Alvarez.

“It’s disrespectful to me to speak about the other fight with Crawford and not wait for the result of our fight on May 3rd,” Scull told The Ring. “But it’s nothing new for me. Everybody’s been saying this. … I’m going to surprise the world in this moment.”

The 32-year-old Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten Russian Vladimir Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant IBF super middleweight title October 19 at Stadthalle in Falkensee, Germany, just outside of Berlin, where Scull resides. Shishkin’s team filed a protest with the IBF and the Association of German Professional Boxers over scoring and officiating, but the result was upheld.

Shishkin isn’t nearly as accomplished as Alvarez. Scull still views Alvarez as less complicated to fight from a strategic standpoint.

“My style is a great style to fight Canelo,” Scull said. “It’s difficult to win against guys with the Russian style. But Canelo, he has a Mexican style. That’s easier for me. But I respect the Mexican style, because they throw a lot of punches. I like that.”