John Ryder has put himself into position to face Canelo Alvarez in May as his WBO mandatory for his 168-lb title after beating Zach Parker by a fifth round stoppage last Saturday night in London.
Eddie Hearn would like to stage Canelo vs. Ryder at the 60,000-seat Emirates in London next May.
He feels that it would be huge for British boxing to bring Canelo over to the UK to defend against ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs).
There would be a lot of interest from UK fans to see Canelo in person against arguably the best fighter at 168 from England, but we’ll have to see if he’s willing to take that fight.
Canelo passed up on the idea of facing Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in May, because he wanted to take a tune-up after having successful left-wrist surgery.
Understandably, fighting Bivol would be the type of match-up that would require Canelo to be at 100% because he was outboxed last May by him.
Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso will be the one that decides on whether to take the fight with Ryder.
“So we’ll have to see what they’re thinking and the options for that interim fight [for Canelo],” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show about Canelo Alvarez’s tune-up in May.
“Yeah, we’re not involved with Demetrius [Andrade] anymore, but he’s a great fighter. Maybe he should have taken that fight [with Zach Parker] and gotten himself in a mandatory position [with the WBO at 168] for Canelo Alvarez.
“Thankfully, the opportunity arose for John Ryder. He’s had a great year. He beat Daniel Jacobs, and he beat Zach Parker. He’s the mandatory for the WBO world title.
“If Canelo Alvarez is looking for that interim WBO fight, I’d love to bring Canelo Alvarez to the UK. It would be huge for British boxing.
“I think he’d love it as well, and I think John Ryder is deserving of that opportunity after the year he’s had and the wins he’s had. So hopefully, we can make that happen.
“Emirates is a fantastic stadium [for Canelo vs. Ryder]. Wembley, of course, is the home of the big fights. Any big stadium and the British fight fans would love to see Canelo Alvarez in the UK. We could do something really special,” said Hearn about Canelo’s next potential fight in May.