John Ryder is looking to become the first man to defeat Canelo Alvarez at super-middleweight when he seeks to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming a world champion in the Mexico heat on Saturday night in Guadalajara. The Londoner is facing arguably one of the toughest tasks in boxing in attempting to hurt and breakdown the mesmerising pound-for-pound star, who has provided small hope that he is beatable following last year’s shock light-heavyweight defeat to Dimitry Bivol almost exactly one year ago in Las Vegas.
That night at the T-Mobile Arena in Sin City, Bivol frustrated Canelo and used his superior physique to his advantage as he kept the Mexican at bay before earning a unanimous points victory on the scorecards.
But this is another challenge altogether for Ryder as Canelo is now back down at his preferred weight and fresh off the back of his comfortable trilogy victory over Gennadiy Golovkin last September.
Ryder is a seasoned contender who has earned his opportunity the hard way after grafting his way up the ranks following a series of setbacks and defeats having lost five times in his professional career.
While he maintains a huge underdog status, he comes into the bout fresh off the back of four impressive victories – the latest of which came against Zach Parker and Canelo’s former opponent Daniel Jacobs.
Jacobs, although he is no longer at the peak of his powers, went the distance with Canelo in Las Vegas four years ago and that will prove Ryder with a nice glimmer of confidence heading into Saturday’s matchup as he seeks to test himself against one of the sport’s best.
The Brit is confident Bivol’s victory over Canelo has created lasting damage that he will seek to exploit when he climbs through the ropes to trade leather.
“I’ve trained for the best Canelo, and I want him to be at his best, but it’s hard to say [if his finest days are behind him],” Ryder said.
“That loss to Bivol obviously took a lot out of him and he had that great year in 2021 when he unified the super-middleweight division [after fighting four times in 11 months].
“That took a lot out of him too, with back-to-back camps, and the fight with Golovkin was not a vintage performance. He got the job done, but since then he’s had surgery. So we need to wait and see what he’s got left.”
Elsewhere, Joshua Buatsi is back in light-heavyweight action when he takes on Pawel Stepien in Birmingham.
The fight will be the former Team GB star’s first bout since signing with BOXXER after leaving Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
SugarHill Steward-trainer Ben Whittaker is also in action on the undercard and as he hails from Wolverhampton, you can expect some strong support for the slick-handed showman.
Schedules
Guadalajara, Mexico
Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder – WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and WBO super middleweight titles
Julio Cesar Martinez vs Ronal Batista – WBC flyweight title
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs Steve Spark – Super lightweight
Nathan Devon Rodriguez vs Alexander Mejia – Featherweight
Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Ricards Bolotniks – Light heavyweight
Lawrence King vs Elio German Rafael – Super welterweight
Johansen Alvarez Suarez vs Johan Rodriguez Arreguin Super featherweight
Abilkhan Amankul vs Fabian Rios Frausto – Middleweight
Bek Nurmaganbet vs Argenis Espana – Super middleweight
Carlos Emiliano Rojo vs Fabian Trejo Rivera – Super welterweight
Jesus Larios vs Alejandro Curiel – Featherweight
London, England
Joshua Buatsi vs Pawel Stepien
Kaisee Benjamin vs Sean McComb
Lauren Price vs Kirstie Bavington
Ben Whittaker vs Jordan Grant
Tyler Denny vs Macaulay McGowan
Cori Gibbs vs Jimmy First
Shakan Pitters vs Joel McIntyre
Live Streams
Canelo vs Ryder will be shown live on DAZN around the world with the main fight due to get underway at 4am UK time.
Monthly prices start from around £9.99 and DAZN is now available on Sky Channel 429.
Buatsi vs Stepien will be shown live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event on Saturday when coverage will start at 7pm ahead of 10pm ring walks.
It will also be available on Sky Go – meaning you can view on iPhones, tablets, smart phones and other devices – providing you are a Sky Sports subscriber.
You can also sign up to Now TV for £21 per month or alternatively, £12 for a one-day pass.
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