By Sean Jones: John Ryder says he wants to face former unified middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin next, and he is ready to fight him in his home country in Kazakhstan if need be.
The 41-year-old Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) lost his last fight against Canelo Alvarez last September, and he’s been inactive for the last eleven months.
It’s believed that Golovkin wanted to return to the ring for a fight in his native Kazakhstan, but it’s unknown what type of opponent he’d be looking for.
Choosing Ryder would be a guaranteed win for Golovkin, who, even at his advanced age, is levels above him in talent and punching power. If Golovkin wants someone who moves the needle to attract more attention and get a bigger payday, he needs one of these names:
- Jermall Charlo
- Demetrius Andrade
- Caleb Plant
- Dmitry Bivol
After getting a big payday against Canelo in his last fight, it’s not a shock that Ryder is targeting a fight with Golovkin, considering that the money he’ll fighting obscure opposition won’t be significant.
“I’d love to fight Golovkin. I know he’s talking about another fight back in Kazakhstan, and I’d love to be in the opposite corner,” said John Ryder to The Mirror about wanting to fight former unified middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin next.
“I don’t mind going into enemy territory. Why not? A little world tour to finish off my professional career. We’ll go to Kazakhstan for Golovkin and maybe to America for [Caleb] Plant or Mexico for [Jaime] Munguia.”
Ryder likely is set for life financially after the Canelo fight, so it’s unclear if he’ll fight on for too much longer if he’s unable to get the bigger names like GGG to fight him. At 35, it could take #7 WBO Ryder years to get another world title shot, assuming he can these types of contenders:
– David Benavidez
– Caleb Plant
– David Morrell Jr.
– Diego Pacheco
– Edgar Berlanga
– Demetrius Andrade
Even if Ryder eventually earns another world title shot, Canelo will likely be gone or dethroned by then, replaced by David Benavidez or David Morrell Jr. Ryder won’t make huge money fighting those guys, and, of course, his chances of beating those types of fighters are virtually zero.
The 35-year-old Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) isn’t in the position to push to have the popular Golovkin fight him in the UK.
Ryder is coming off a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez earlier this year on May 6th in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Canelo dropped Ryder in the fifth, bloodying his nose, and battered him the remaining seven rounds to win by the scores 120-107, 118-109, and 118-109.
