By Scott Gilfoid: Ryan Rhodes (45-4, 31 KO’s) is already thinking past this Saturday’s fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) at the Arena VFG, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, Mexico. Instead of just praying that he can somehow maybe get a close 12 round decision win, Rhodes is thinking of the kinds of fighters that he wants to fight next, as if the win over Alvarez is a given.
Rhodes, 34, is eying Miguel Cotto, the WBA junior middleweight champion, and Antonio Margarito as the kinds of guys that he wants to fight next. It sounds a bit like a pipe dream gone wild. I’m trying to bend over backwards here and give Rhodes at least a sliver of a chance of realizing his dream, but I can’t see it. I’ve seen Rhodes fight many times in the past and I basically see him as a nice 2nd tier guy on the fringes of making it to the upper level.
The WBC has Rhodes ranked at number #3, but I don’t have a lot of respect for the WBC’s rankings. Rhodes is a good serviceable fighter who probably would be more at home at the number 20 spot or slightly below that. I don’t see Rhodes even being competitive against Alvarez this Saturday night. Rhodes is a mover and spoiler. He won’t be able to stand in front of Alvarez for any length of time without risking getting his head knocked off by one of Alvarez’s big right hands or left hooks.
And Rhodes certainly won’t win a fight by running and pecking in Mexico. Over there, you got to stand and trade and try forcefully take the title from the champ. Alvarez is too strong and Rhodes too weak. It’s not going to work I’m afraid, and Rhodes can forget about facing Cotto and/or Margarito. But I do think Rhodes can find some nice domestic level guy that would be more than happy to fight him after he loses to Alvarez. I see that as more of Rhodes’ real fate minus the pipe dream fantasy junk.
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