By Dan Ambrose: John Ryder likes his chances of upsetting undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez when they meet up on May 6th in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) says Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) hasn’t looked his best in his last two fights against Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol, and he believes that of those two performances, the Mexican star is vulnerable to getting beaten – again.
It would be a fine scalp for Ryder if he defeats the 32-year-old Canelo, and it would open the door for the British fighter to make life-changing money in the rematch.
With the money Ryder would make from two fights against Canelo, he could move to the upscale neighborhood in Brentwood, Essex, and be neighbors with the fabulously wealthy Eddie Hearn.
U.S boxing fans want Canelo to face the winner of the March 25th fight between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant, but he’s choosing to ignore what his North American fanbase wants and, instead, will be taking an arguably easier option in ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder on May 6th.
One positive that could come from the Canelo-Ryder fight is that if Canelo loses to Ryder, it would be a signal that he needs to call it a day. If Canelo can’t beat this level of opponent, he’d stand no chance of defeating the Benavidez-Plant winner or the other killers in the 168-lb division, like David Morrell and Demetrius Andrade.
Canelo’s conditioning has worsened
A surefire way for the 34-year-old Ryder to beat Canelo is to apply the same unrelenting pressure that he put on Daniel Jacobs, Zach Parker, and Callum Smith. With that kind of a fast pace fight, Ryder can wear the former four-division world champion Canelo out just like Bivol, and 40-year-old Golovkin recently did in his last two fights.
Canelo had emptied his gas tank completely by the sixth round in both of those contests, and his depleted condition had nothing to do with his left wrist injury that he had supposedly been fighting with for the last couple of years.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has been Canelo’s main excuse-maker for his recent dismal performances, blaming his lackluster showings on his wrist injury, but the reality is, the Mexican star’s cardio has worsened in the last year to the point where he’s little more than six-round fighter at this stage of his career.
Ryder sees vulnerability in Canelo
“As far as we know, that’s our next fight, and we’re working hard towards it. I’m sure in the coming days, we’ll get some news,” said John Ryder to iFL TV about his potential fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on May 6th on DAZN.
“This isn’t the first time someone has shocked the world, and it could happen again. He’s not looked at his best in the last year,” Ryder said about Canelo. “He lost to Bivol, who is an exceptional fighter, and he beat [40-year-old Gennadiy] Golovkin. So who knows where Canelo is at this stage of his career?
“I’ve earned this shot [against Canelo], and I deserve to be here. I’m going to take what’s mine,” said Ryder.
