John Ryder faces Canelo in undisputed clash
Super middleweight boxer John Ryder has the unenviable task of facing all-time great Saul Alvarez in May and victory over the Mexican would rank as one of the best victories by a British boxer of all time.
Alvarez not only has a great record against British boxers, 7-0 following his success against Billy Joe Saunders in 2021, but his record as a pro reads 58-2-2. His only two defeats have come against Floyd Mayweather Jr and Dmitry Bivol, with the latter coming at light heavyweight when stepping up in weight.
Ryder Big Underdog in Betting
In the betting boxing for this huge fight in Canelo’s home country of Mexico, Ryder is a 7/1 to prevail. Alvarez is as short as 1/16 to make another successful defence of his four major super middleweight titles.
Ryder’s last full world title opportunity came against fellow British boxer Callum Smith in November 2019. He lost that contest by unanimous decisions on points. Since that loss, he has won all four of his appearances in the ring.
After an extended absence from the sport, Ryder made his return to boxing on a card in Florida in December 2020. He beat American Mike Guy on points following 10 rounds. The following year, he travelled to Austria to take on home fighter Jozef Jurko. He needed just five rounds on that occasion, stopping his opponent in an excellent performance.
Two-time world champion Daniel Jacobs then came across to London in February 2022 to take on Ryder. That was a strong test for the British boxer, and he overcame it, outscoring the highly ranked super middleweight boxer.
Ryder got the opportunity to fight for the vacant WBO interim super middleweight title following that win over Jacobs. He faced Zach Parker at The O2 Arena last November. Parker failed to come out of his corner for the fifth round which resulted in a success for The Gorilla.
Crowd Set to Be Behind Canelo
Alvarez has not fought in Mexico since 2011 when he took on another British opponent in Ryan Rhodes, so the fight against Ryder is seen as a homecoming for the undisputed super middleweight champion.
Ryder will be fully aware that the majority of the crowd in Guadalajara will be supporting the home fighter. However, he has a lot of experience of fighting around the world which should stand him in good stead for this challenge.
The 32-year-old is set to travel to Las Vegas first where he will continue to train ahead of his fight. He will then make the trip to Guadalajara one week before the fight.
Ryder was named the mandatory WBO challenger following his success against Parker. Alvarez had until the 18th of May to set a date for the fight otherwise he would have been forced to vacate his WBO crown.
The fight in Mexico is a dream contest for Ryder and should he inflict defeat on Canelo, it would rank as one of the most impressive by a British boxer on foreign soil.