By Jake Tiernan: Canelo Alvarez revealed today that his next title defense of his four 168-lb belts would be on May 6th in a homecoming fight in Jalisco, Mexico.
The 32-year-old Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will have his IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO super middleweight titles up for grabs when he’s expected to defend against John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs).
If Canelo wins this fight, his next bout will likely be a rematch against Dmitry Bivol in September at 168
Fans would have preferred that Canelo’s May 6th fight would have been against Bivol, but the Mexican star is coming off left wrist surgery, and he wants to test it out first before fighting Bivol again.
What makes that fight compelling is that Bivol will be coming down in weight from 175 to challenge Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight championship, and there’s a possibility that he’ll be weight-drained, particularly if there’s a rehydration clause.
It’s not of great interest to the average fan that Canelo is choosing to fight in Mexico for his May 6th, as there’s no gain for people that don’t live in that country. This news will please Canelo’s Mexican fans, who hadn’t seen him fight in their country since 2011 when he defeated Ryan Rhodes.
Canelo’s choice of fighting in Mexico will reportedly hurt him in the pocketbook because he won’t make as much money fighting there as he would if he were to fight in the U.S.
With that said, it’s questionable whether a fight between Canelo and the 34-year-old British fighter Ryder would interest American boxing fans enough for them to want to purchase tickets to see the fight live.
Fighting Ryder will be seen by many American fans as another Billy Joe Saunders, Rocky Fielding, and Callum Smith-level opponent. In other words, another guy with virtually no chance of beating Canelo.
U.S. boxing fans aren’t eager to see Canelo face the 34-year-old Ryder, as they want to see him face an elite-level fighter instead of another warm-up fight, as the Mexican star has spent most of the last four years taking tune-up level fights.
“Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez confirmed his first fight in Jalisco in 12 years,” said Salvador Rodriguez to ESPN Knockout. “It is known that the British John Ryder is already advanced in the talks.
“The favorite venue for Canelo Álvarez’s return home is the Jalisco Stadium.”
“Celebrating the 200 years free and sovereign of Jalisco, I return to fight in my land. I will defend all my titles this coming month of May. More details coming soon,” Canelo Alvarez said on social media.