By Dan Ambrose: Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez could face the winner of the November 26th fight between John ‘Gorilla’ Ryder and Zach Parker in a tune-up next May.
Canelo wants a rematch against Dmitry Bivol, but he doesn’t want to take it straight away, given how overmatched he was last May against the unbeaten WBA 175-lb champion.
Ryder and Parker are fighting for the vacant WBO interim super middleweight title at the Wembley Arena in London.
Like Canelo, Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) is with Matchroom Boxing, making a fight between them an easy one to set up. Also, it allows Canelo to fight in the UK, which is what he and his promoter Eddie Hearn has talked about.
The 34-year-old Ryder would be the ideal opponent for Canelo to use for tune-up purposes because he has little power and he’s slow. As long as Canelo doesn’t gas out as he did against Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin in his last two fights, it should be a walk in the park for him to defeat ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder.
“Let’s see how that fight goes,” said Canelo to ESPN. “It’s a very competitive fight, and to me, I see Benavidez winning, but my focus is on the Bivol rematch.”
“The idea is to return in May with a tuneup fight to see how I feel and then get the rematch against Bivol in September,” Canelo said. “That’s the only thing I want for my career right now.”
Ryder has a tough fight against the unbeaten Parker (22-0, 16 KOs) and might lose that match. If so, Parker could be the tune-up opponent for Canelo, and it wouldn’t be an easy one.
Parker is a huge super middleweight, but he’s not in the league talent-wise as the elite fighters at 168 like David Benavidez and David Morrell. Still, it wouldn’t be an easy fight for Canelo, particularly if his surgically repaired left wrist isn’t 100%.
Earlier today, it was revealed that Canelo will be taking a warm-up fight next May to see how his surgically repaired left wrist holds up before deciding whether to face Bivol in a rematch in September.
It was believed initially that Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) would take the rematch with Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) in May following the Mexican star’s victory over Golovkin last September.
Unfortunately, Canelo’s left wrist changed the dynamics, requiring him to take a tune-up first.