By Matt Lieberman: John Ryder is confident of victory over undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for their May 6th fight that was announced earlier today for the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Canelo-Ryder will be headlining the ‘King is Coming Home’ card live on DAZN PPV. Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) feels he’s got the skills and the ability to unseat the four-belt 168-lb champion Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) and bring the belts back home to England with him.
So convinced of victory, the former world title challenger Ryder is already talking about defending against Canelo in the rematch at the 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium in London.
Canelo has too much ego to walk away from a loss to Ryder without attempting to avenge the loss, so there’s a good chance we could see the rematch in the UK next unless Saudi Arabia wants to make a play to stage the fight in their country.
Canelo would have already fought Ryder in 2021 if ‘The Gorilla’ wasn’t beaten by former WBA 168-lb champion Callum Smith by a controversial 12 round unanimous decision in November 2019 in Liverpool. That was a fight that many boxing fans felt Ryder deserved the victory, but the match took place in Callum’s hometown.
Ryder won’t give Canelo too much respect
“I think his tenacity. He’s hard to read, he’s hard to gauge, he’s very powerful and very strong,” said John Ryder to Matchroom Boxing, when asked what makes Canelo Alvarez so good.
“He’s got a granite chin and power in both hands. He’s always got the equalizer. Like I said, he’s aging. I don’t know how that’s affected him, and injuries play into it. I just feel that going in there and putting my best foot forward, and giving a terrific account of myself and come away with the marbles.
“I didn’t really see the reason behind fighting Bivol at 175, to be honest,” continued Ryder. “I know he [Canelo] boxed a couple of years ago at light heavyweight and won a world title [against WBO 175-lb champion Sergey Kovalev].
“It was a bit of a big jump, and he [Canelo] felt the weight difference. I thought it was a bit strange that he went up there again. Obviously, that was against Kovalev. Bivol was younger, fresher. I thought it was a strange move at the time, but you always back what he’s going to do.
“I always believed that he was going to win. Yeah, definitely. I’m going to have to do something that nobody has ever done before. I really need to change it up. Mix it up, and don’t stand there in front of him.
“Don’t give him too much respect. Give him respect; he obviously deserves it, but hold my feet. Don’t move too much. Don’t waste that nervous energy. Just keep it all in the tank,” said Ryder.
John not worried about judges
“We’ve got just over ten weeks now. It’s great notice for a fight,” Ryder said. “I’ve had this fight in mind for three years. I’ve obviously been looking at this fight. Yeah, give me three good weeks, and I’ll be in full swing in the camp, and I’ll be raring to go on May 6th.
“I’m always getting a few messages from Mexicans showing love. So I hope they show it when I’m out there. I think I watched his last fight against Ryan Rhodes when he was out there. I could see what he was about then, and we’ll see what he’s about now.
“I don’t think it’s going to be AJ and Fury at Wembley. It’s not going to be clapping [from the Mexican fans on the night against Canelo]. I expect to get a few cups thrown at me and spat at.
“It’s nothing. I just hope they’re there to appreciate a good fight and watch us put it on the line. I don’t think so,” said Ryder when asked if he has to stop Canelo to get a decision win. “I think that was the worry when he fought Bivol.
“Bivol was worried about the scorecards getting read out and it being a decision for Canelo and Bivol being robbed. It just showed that the scoring and the judging is fair. You’ve got to put your trust in the judges. They’ve got one soldier’s job to do. So put your trust in them that they can do it,” said Ryder.
Ryder wants Canelo rematch in UK
“Don’t shoot me down. I’m still dreaming,” said Ryder when asked what message he has for the haters that aren’t giving him a shot against Canelo. “Let me live my dream. Listen, keep your opinions to yourself.
“I’m not reading them. I don’t care. I’m doing this for me. I’m not doing it for you. Go about your business. Life can’t be that bad where you’ve got to worry about me too much.
“I think he should look for the rematch at the Emirates with me. Get his titles back or try,” said Ryder when asked if Canelo should fight Dmitry Bivol next.
“There’s always that chance, but I think he’s too much of a professional. He knows what’s at stake, and him obviously not being successful on May 6th. He knows that fight is not there for him next,” Ryder said about the Canelo vs. Bivol rematch.
“He’s getting his homecoming in Mexico. Yeah, back at the Emirates. Me back at the Emirates, defending my titles against Canelo. We looked at it [Guadalajara]. There’s no altitude. It’s 1500 meters above sea level, so that’s not an issue,” said Ryder.
Unphased fighting in the lion’s den
“I think Tony said something about going to Vegas two weeks before and doing my last bit of sparring there, which is eight hours behind, and then we’ll head to Guadalajara, which is six weeks behind,” said Ryder. “That won’t be too much of a worry with it two hours less.
“I think we’ll be alright. A nice little time in Vegas climatize and really get our heads down. I think Tony isn’t a man that just goes there and do what he can do. He wants to go there and put it all on the line.
“He wouldn’t represent me in the corner if I was going to go there and do that, and rightly so. He can trust me that I’ll go there and put my best foot forward and give it 110% and come away with it.
“It’s not the first time I’ve gone to the lion’s den. We’ve been to Liverpool and to others as well a couple of times. We’ve been hard done by it, but we’ve always gone for it and been unlucky.
“Train hard. Don’t overlook me because I don’t intend on overlooking you,” said Ryder about the message he has for Canelo. “I’m coming, and this is my time.
“Just being smart, just forcing the pace at times, maybe. Just smart movements, not being careless, not being wreckless, having that high guard, and being sensible,” said Ryder on what he must do to defeat Canelo.
“Don’t overcomplicate it; just keep it simple. The belts are coming are coming home, yeah,” said Ryder about Canelo’s titles are going to come home with him to England.
