By Jeff Aronow: Canelo Alvarez was showing unbeaten lightweight contender Ryan Garcia how to land jabs on taller opponents on Friday at trainer Eddy Reynoso’s gym.
With the help Canelo is giving Ryan Garcia, he might be able to eventually dethrone WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney. That’s a guy that Ryan has veered away from for some reason.
Canelo, 5’8″, will be taking on the considerably taller 6’1″ Caleb Plant on November 6th in the undisputed super middleweight championship in Las Vegas.
It’s important for Canelo to be able to land his jabs against the taller Plant because it could go badly for him if he’s bottled up on the outside, as was the case in his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.
Ryan to fight Joseph Diaz Jr. next
The 5’10” Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) is expected to be fighting the shorter 5’6″ former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz Jr. (32-1-1, 15 KOs) next in November or December.
Diaz Jr. revealed on Friday that the Ryan Garcia fight is being finalized and could be announced next week. If Ryan faces Diaz, 28, next, he’s going to need a lot more of the tips that Canelo has been giving him to win that fight.
Diaz Jr. is more experienced than Ryan, and he’s plenty tough. If Ryan isn’t able to knock Diaz Jr. out early, he might get stopped. With the power, work rate, experience, and chin of Diaz Jr, he could very well beat Ryan.
The toughness that Jo Jo Diaz Jr. possesses isn’t something that Canelo or trainer Eddy Reynoso are going to be able to teach Ryan. He’s either has it or he doesn’t.
It was disappointing to see Ryan get dropped hard by his last opponent Luke Campbell in their fight last January.
Campbell wasn’t known as a big power puncher during his career, but he sure did drop Ryan easily a left hand. Ryan can’t allow that to happen when he begins facing bigger punchers in the 135-lb division.
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Canelo showing Ryan Garcia a sneaky jab that he likes to throw against his taller opponents. Ryan doesn’t seem to his jab much in his fights, as his main focus is throwing his left hook.
Against an experienced fighter like Jo Jo Diaz Jr., Ryan might not be able to enjoy the same success with his left hook as he’s done in the past.
Hopefully, Ryan is capable of using a jab because he’s going to need it against Diaz. On paper, Diaz Jr. is on another level than Ryan as far as experience and ability to take a punch.
If Ryan loses this fight, Golden Boy will need to bring him back slowly because he needs more experience.