Vladimir Shishkin’s Team Files Protest Against Losing William Scull, Plans To Pursue Replay
William Scull (left) hit the mark when he defeated Vladimir Shishkin by unanimous decision in a vacant IBF super middleweight title fight on October 19 in Falkansee, Germany. Photo credit: Torsten Helmke, AGON Sports
One of the worst title fights of the year could somehow produce a sequel.
The Ring has confirmed that Vladimir Shishkin and his team want his lone defeat reversed. Shishkin lost a controversial decision to William Scull in their vacant IBF super middleweight title fight on October 19 in Falkansee, Germany. Scull won by scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 115-113, although most viewers felt that Shishkin was unlucky not to have his hand raised.
Shishkin is promoted by Salita Promotions. Both teams are legally represented by David Berlin, who filed a claim with the Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer, the commission that oversees boxing in Germany. Shishkin’s team cited dodgy scoring by the judges and the handling of Berlin-based referee Olivier Brien.
Keith Idec of Boxing News was the first to report the development.
Scull (23-0, 9 knockouts) was rewarded for his efficiency over Shishkin’s superior punch output. Compubox’s unofficial stats credited Scull with landing 80-of-359 punches (22.3 percent) in their brutal 12-round fight. Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) landed 110-of-746 punches (14.8 percent). The sad thing about Shishkin is that 70 percent of his punches were jabs (522), yet he fell twice behind Scull (44-to-42).
Shishkin landed 68-of-324 power punches (30.4 percent)—what Compubox defines as any punch that isn’t a jab. Scull was just 36-of-154 in this category (23.4 percent).
Many rounds of individuals have been marked as suspects.
Judge Rene Fiebig (Germany) scored it 116-113 for Scull. He scored the second round 10-10 and somehow awarded the twelfth in Scull, a round in which the local boxer was shaken early in the round and often bent down.
Judge Robert Hoyle (American) was the only official to score the eighth round in Scull. The three-minute frame saw Scull fail to land a single power punch (0-of-14) and land just four punches in the round. The fifth round was another one that saw Hoyle award Shishkin a clear Scull round.
The official protest also pointed to the “incompetence” of the referee, especially in the last round. Shortly after the two fighters separated from the center, Scull deliberately spat out his mouth. Not only was he cautioned, but he was given significant time to recover from an injury earlier in the cycle.
It is understandable that Shishkin and his team wanted to be fair about the decision. However, legal points are rarely if ever overturned without evidence of corruption. By the time commissions and sanctioning bodies acknowledge the inadequacy of management, light disciplinary measures are often met with.
Shishkin’s group has a plan to give back. A request will be made to the IBF for an immediate rematch.
Scull and Shishkin were both considered to be challenging for the IBF super middleweight title. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) previously held the belt—along with all the others and The Ring champion at 168—but was stripped of it after failing to defend against Scull.
Shishkin was honored as the IBF No. 1 contender. 2. Defeated former title holder Jose Uzcategui in a December 2022 title eliminator.
Scull earned his sanctioning body status with a twelve round victory over Evgeny Shvedenko that same year. Their final cut for July 2022 was the number 1 spot.
Once the title was stripped of Alvarez’s reign, the IBF ordered a vacant Scull-Shishkin title fight. A hearing on the purse bid was scheduled due to a lack of movement during negotiations. Salita Promotions managed to strike a deal with AGON Sports, Scull’s promoter, at the eleventh hour to avoid that process.
The next update of the RING ratings will see Scull and Shishkin reach No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, at super middleweight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
