By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez will be fighting in front of what could be a crowd of 55,000 fans at Jalisco Stadium on May 6th when he defends his four super middleweight titles in Guadalajara, Mexico.
At maximum capacity, the Jalisco Stadium holds 55K fans, but whether that many people turn up for the Mexican star Canelo’s homecoming will depend on two things:
A. Ticket prices
B. Opponent
It will be a hard sell if Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) goes ahead with his British promoter Eddie Hearn’s idea of matching him against UK fighters John Ryder on May 6th. Hearn is from a faraway land in Great Britain, and what he doesn’t understand is what’s good for British fans isn’t suitable for North Americans.
Casuals have no clue who John Ryder is
The Mexican and U.S. casual fans don’t know who the 34-year-old Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) is, and they won’t be chomping at the bit to see Canelo fight him rather than someone they’ve heard of and are interested in seeing.
If Canelo wants to ensure he sells out the 55,000 Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara and keep his popularity from continuing to erode, which you can argue it’s been since late 2018, he needs to face one of these fighters on May 6th instead of ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder:
- Demetrius Andrade
- David Benavidez
- Caleb Plant
- Jermall Charlo
- Dmitry Bivol
- David Morrell
- Artur Beterbiev
- Jean Pascal
I’m not asking Canelo to walk to plank into shark-invested waters, but come on, how about giving the Mexican fans their money’s worth by letting them see him fight a live dog instead of an obscure fighter with five losses on his record?
According to Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN, Canelo’s undercard will have WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar ‘Rey’ Martinez defending against McWilliams Arroyo in a rematch.
Martinez & Arroyo fought a non-contest in 2021 in a fight that ended due to a clash of heads. The two were supposed to fight already, but injuries had delayed it. You can argue it’ll be a minor miracle if this fight happens.
“Canelo Álvarez, trained and managed by Eddy Reynoso, will star for the first time at the Jalisco Stadium, a building with a capacity for more than 55,000 fans…will fight John Ryder,” said Salvador Rodriguez to ESPN Knockout.
“Julio César ‘Rey’ Martínez, who would be facing Puerto Rican McWilliams Arroyo.”
