Canelo shows Ryder respect after battle

By Boxing News - 05/07/2023 - Comments

By Jake Tiernan: Canelo Alvarez met with a beat-up-looking John Ryder after their battle last night to show him respect for the hard fight that he’d given him in defense of his undisputed super middleweight championship at the Estadio Akron stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs), who suffered a broken nose in round two from a vicious uppercut from Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs), acknowledged that he’d been injured from the hard shot.

YouTube video

Unfortunately, the scores weren’t close, which was a disappointment on the night. The judging crew gave Ryder no credit for seemingly getting the better of Canelo in four to five rounds. They scored: 120-107, 118-109, and 118-109.

“He was very good. He’s probably past his best, but he still had enough in the tank tonight,” said John Ryder at the post-fight press conference.

It was evident for everyone to see that Canelo, at this point in his career, is just a shadow of the fighter he’s been two years earlier when he captured the undisputed championship in 2021.

Canelo’s speed, power, and stamina have taken a significant hit, and he is not the guy he was back then. This writer estimates that Canelo is 70% of the fighter he was in 2021 and earlier, which is enough for him to defeat fighters like Ryder.

Canelo doesn’t have enough to beat Dmitry Bivol, David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev, and David Morrell. Those guys are a cut above Canelo at this point in his career.

“I think so, yeah,” said Canelo when asked if John Ryder is the best British fighter he’s faced.

The British fighters that Canelo has fought in the past faced a better version of him, so it’s challenging to compare Ryder to them. Callum Smith had the best offensive weapons but failed to use them when he fought Canelo in 2020.

Ryder was willing to take punishment to land his shots, putting him above the Brits that Canelo had fought in the past. Still, he was too slow of hand and lacked the power to win the fight.

If Canelo had fought super middleweights David Morrell or Benavidez last night, he would have likely been beaten by both and dethroned. Those guys are far better fighters than Ryder. They would be a nightmare for this deteriorated & old version of Canelo that we saw last night and in his two previous fights against Gennadiy Golovkin and Bivol.

YouTube video