By Sean Jones: John Ryder comes into Saturday’s fight with Canelo Alvarez with no pressure on him because the fans & oddsmakers expect him to lose.
That’s what Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) has in his favor. He will “surprise” Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) and take his four super middleweight titles away from him this Saturday, May 6th, in their headliner on DAZN PPV at the Estadio Akron, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
It would be a shocker to some boxing fans to see Canelo lose, but if you look at how beatable he was in 2022, it makes sense for him to lose to Ryder. Canelo, 32, is coming off the worst year of his career, and he’s lucky he didn’t lose both of his fights.
Alvarez was schooled by Dmitry Bivol last May and easily could have been beaten by the faded Gennadiy Golovkin if GGG hadn’t given him so much respect in the first half of the fight.
“I’m excited to fight a legend, I come here for my legacy, and I’ll surprise him,” said Ryder about Canelo.
Canelo comes into this fight with a perfect 7-0 record against British fighters, and if he beats Ryder, he’ll be 8-0. Ryder wants to spoil Canelo’s perfect record by beating him in front of his fans in Guadalajara on Saturday.
If Ryder had fought Canelo in the past, there’s a chance his record would be 6-1 against the Brits because his fighting style on paper is kryptonite for the Mexican star.
The only question is whether Ryan can take the power of Canelo to wear him down as Bivol did. That’s the magic question because Ryder will be standing right in front of Canelo the entire fight, and he won’t be difficult to hit.
Canelo’s wins over Brits
Matthew Hatton
Ryan Rhodes
Amir Khan
Liam Smith
Rocky Fielding
Callum Smith
Billy Joe Saunders
Marquez critical of Canelo’s choice of opponent
“A regular fighter, from mid-level on down,” said Juan Manuel Marquez to ESPN Deportes about Ryder.
“When you are world champion, you have to face whoever, be it Mexican, European,” said Márquez.
Canelo fires back
“[Márquez] has always been envious, but his words do not affect me, and I do not take them into account,” added “Canelo.”
“That’s all part of this, there was always criticism of the step, and there continues to be criticism,” Canelo said to the Associated Press. “It is a division between the ‘haters’ and those who support me, which, fortunately, there are more.”
