Renowned boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez could cement his status as the best pound-for-pound pugilist on the planet before his home crowd on Saturday in Guadalajara, where he will face Briton John Ryder, who intends to play the spoilsport.
The 32-year-old Mexican will fight his first fight in his hometown since 2011 and is taking it all seriously as he defends his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight world titles for the first time since winning by unanimous decision at the expense of Gennady Golovkin on September 17.
Read also : Deontay Wilder gets handcuffed
Read also : A first fight in the United States for Arslanbek Makhmudov
“For 12 years, I have accomplished a lot of feats in boxing and I have become the best, declared the famous athlete to the daily “USA Today”, in an interview broadcast on Tuesday. I am proud to fight in Guadalajara and happy to offer this fight to the people who encouraged me from the start.
Indeed, the Cinco de Mayo weekend could be synonymous with celebration for Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) if he has Ryder (32-5-0, 18 KOs). ), an opponent who has won his four most recent clashes after suffering a decision loss at the hands of Callum Smith in 2019. He is not to be taken lightly, as he holds the WBO interim belt of the category .
“He has everything to gain, admitted the undisputed champion. Thus, he represents a danger for me, since he has nothing to lose. I train consistently 100% for the best of John Ryder and that’s it.”
In enemy territory, really
If Alvarez is considered an icon in his hometown, the same cannot be said of Ryder, who will have to face a hostile crowd. However, everything is played on the pitch and not on paper in the world of sport and the 34-year-old pugilist hopes to cause a memorable upset.
“It would be a dream come true, absolutely. I’m sure there would be a movie produced about it at some point because it would be a true masterpiece, he told the “Seconds Out” podcast of the possibility of triumph on Saturday. Nobody expected me to get my hands on a boxing belt four or five years ago. I persevered and turned the tide by believing in myself, not counting the people who helped me. It’s really good.”
Alvarez is quite an opponent nonetheless, even though he lost to Dmitry Bivol at 178 lbs in May 2022. His latest victims include Golovkin (twice), Sergey Kovalev, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders; he also defeated Ryder in 2013.