Boxing fans and Mexican fans alike will be able to enjoy a thoroughly exciting ‘Cinco de Mayo’ weekend with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez set to fight interim WBO Super Middleweight champion, John Ryder, in Mexico for the first time in nearly twelve years. Alvarez, who still is the division’s undisputed Super Middleweight champion, will be defending all his titles on May 6th at the Estadio Akran in Guadelajara. The press conference officially beckoned the fight to occur and was held on March 14th in Mexico at the same region where the fight is slated to take place; in the state of Jalisco in Zapopan.
After more than a decade of fighting in the USA, Saul Alvarez has set forth his intention to treat his fans with an entertaining conclusion to the yearly ‘Cinco de Mayo‘ celebration which originates out of Mexico and is always celebrated on the 5th of May. Though Saul Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KO’s) has fought a multitude of fights during that that festive period, he had been fighting overseas in the USA around those times.
John Ryder (32-5, 18 KO’s) received the opportunity to fight Alvarez after an all-British bout against Zach Parker (22-1, 16 KO’s) that forced Parker to quit after sustaining a deliberating hand injury, which allowed Ryder to win the match RTD (referee’s technical decision) and subsequently earn the WBO interim title at 168 lbs. Ryder’s win over Parker marked the second time he pulled off an upset win after defeating the highly-respected Daniel Jacobs (37-4, 30 KO’s) by split-decision roughly a year before in 2022.
Though bookmakers widely tip Canelo Alvarez to grab home an easy victory in his return to Mexico after many years, Ryder is currently seen as the second-best Super Middleweight in the division by BoxRec, and the third-best on The Ring’s rankings of top 168-pounders. He is also regarded as the best Super Middleweight to come out of Great Britain, and brings with him a decade of experience as a professional.
He also presents a challenge to Alvarez as a southpaw-stanced fighter, and his come-forward approach which bears a lot of similarities to the ‘Mexican style‘ of boxing we’ve seen Alvarez use himself on many occasions. Though Ryder also sports five losses in total, only one one came by stoppage – against early-retired countryman Nick Blackwell, and he has not lost since 2019 when he lost by unanimous decision to current Light-Heavyweight contender Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KO’s).
This will also be the second time John Ryder is participating in a world title bout after missing out on winning a world title in his bout versus Callum Smith, but he faces overwhelming odds in a future Hall of Famer in Canelo Alvarez who seems eager to showcase his talent in his home country after so many years of fighting abroad.
