William Scull outpoints Vladimir Shishkin, wins vacant IBF super middle belt

William Scull won a close but unanimous decision on Saturday, defeating Vladimir Shishkin at Stadthalle in Brandenburg, Germany to win the vacant IBF super middleweight title.

The scores were 116-113, 116-112 and 115-113, all for Scull (23-0, 9 knockouts), a Germany based Cuban who entered the fight as the no. 1 rated IBF contender at 168 pounds. Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) of Stepnoe, Russia loses for the first time in his eight year pro career.

Despite a title belt being at stake, the fight was devoid of the drama typically associated with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the pound for pound champion who previously held the belt before vacating the title.

After a measured pace in the first eleven rounds, the bout final began to live up to its billing in the final round, as left hooks from Shishkin began to get through and hurt Scull, causing him to smother and hold from the remainder of the round.

Shishkin entered the fight rated no. 6 by The Ring at 168 pounds, while Scull will likely enter the ratings after being unrated heading into the fight.

Scull, 32, now lives in Berlin, nearby where the fight took place.

In the co-featured bout, Dusan Veletic (9-1-1, 5 KOs) boxed and potshotted his way to a unanimous decision win over Tomas Salek (22-6, 13 KOs) by scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93. The fight was a slow paced heavyweight brawl, with Veletic of Loznica, Serbia by way of Bosnia and Herzegovina taking the opportunities to land when his Czech opponent threw his slower, winging punches.