Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did not miss his return “home”, eleven years later. In front of an audience all committed to his cause, Saturday, May 6, in his hometown of Guadalajara, the Mexican beat the Briton John Ryder by unanimous decision. The 32-year-old boxer retains his WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and The Ring, remaining, therefore, the undisputed champion of super middleweight.
🤯 What an atmosphere for @Canelo’s ringwalk!
The Champ is finally home 🇲🇽
#CaneloRyder live on DAZN PPV now https://t.co/y0njFADBrZ
He only missed a K.-O. for the evening to be perfect, but Canelo Alvarez was logically given the winner by the three judges (120-107, 118-109, 118-109 in points count). He now has 59 wins – including 39 before the deadline -, 2 draws and 2 losses.
John Ryder, worked with all his heart to go to the end of the twelve times. And it was not easy: the right of his rival hurt him, several times. Hit at 3e round, by a powerful blow, his nose kept bleeding afterwards.
at 5e recovery, he was sent to the ground for the first time and struggled to get up before the end of the referee’s count. If observers thought the end of the fight was near, the native of London showed remarkable resistance. Tough on evil, he did not hide to avoid confrontation, not hesitating to attack even if it meant taking a lot of money.
A clean 1-2 knock down on Ryder in the 5th round. 😮
#CaneloRyder is LIVE on DAZN PPV in the US and Canada and avai… https://t.co/ep2qNDAWpS
On a counter, right hook, Canelo knocked him down at 8e round, but he was saved by the bell. A swollen face turning purple, John Ryder managed to finish the fight standing, even if he signs his 6e defeat in 38 matches.
“Everyone knows I want Bivol”
“He was a tough, tenacious fighter. I’m not surprised, I respect him a lot for that.”greeted the Mexican after his victory, saying to himself “happy with this fight”.
Considered for several years as the best boxer in all categories, Canelo Alvarez showed on Saturday that he had turned the page on a complicated year 2022, marked by a second failed foray into light heavyweight, three years after a first victorious where he had won the WBO belt.
In Las Vegas a year ago, he came up against the solidity of Russian Dmitri Bivol, who, by unanimous decision of the judges, had retained his WBA title – the second loss for Alvarez, nine years after his loss against American Floyd Mayweather. Today, the Guadalajara native is considering rematch: “everyone knows I want Bivol”he launched in the ring, after the fight against John Ryder.
He needs a challenge greater than that offered by the competition in the super-middleweights, whose titles he unified in November 2021. His great rival, the Kazakh Gennady Golovkin, 40, had not could not worry him for their third fight in September 2022, after a controversial draw and a sluggish victory.
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But Canelo Alvarez was not convinced and some were considering a possible end to his reign, especially since he has since undergone surgery on his left hand to treat a ligament problem. On Saturday, the Mexican proved that he did not intend to give up the throne.