Teddy Atlas says Canelo Alvarez’s performance against John Ryder showed a fighter with both “mental” and “physical decline”, not the guy he’s been four years earlier when he defeated Sergey Kovalev in 2019.
Atlas notes that Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) threw just one punch at a time against the very slow, plodding & hittable 34-year-old Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) in winning a twelve round unanimous decision at the Estadio Akron stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.
With an opponent as slow and weak as Ryder, Canelo should have been able to throw three to four-punch combinations, Atlas says, as it would have been easy for him to finish this guy. Atlas feels that the Canelo from 2019, would have gotten Ryder out of there without any problems.
The problem Canelo has, as far as Atlas is concerned, is that he’s made too much money and he’s not willing to take chances to let his hands go for fear of getting caught with something. The end result is Canelo’s fights are harder for him because he’s no longer knocking out his opponents.
Atlas feels that Canelo needs to fight David Benavidez as soon as possible before he deteriorates any further because his chances of success decline the longer he waits.
“He was catching him with good body shots, right hands, and pretty much what he wanted,” said Teddy Atlas to The Fight about Canelo Alvarez’s win over John Ryder last Saturday night.
“Here’s the deterioration he is at now as far as the tangible part to it. He throws one punch at a time, Canelo. He was in there with a guy that he could have thrown three or four, and he’s slower to close.
“He was never fast with his feet, but now he’s slower to close the gaps to where he’s now plodding a little bit to get to you. Even with Kovalev and he had to break him down, and Kovalev got broken down mentally.
“When he broke him down with body shots and pressure, he closed the gaps fast. That was only a few years ago. He was slow to close the gaps. He’s changed where he doesn’t follow with that second volley.
“He hits you, and he’s satisfied. He doesn’t put the second volley behind the first on that will get you out of there. He doesn’t follow up. He doesn’t close the show anymore, Canelo.
“Part of that is physical decline with more miles on the odometer, but part of it is mental decline and emotional decline where he’s made so much money, and I’ll dare to say it. It’s not as important. Maybe if he fights Benavidez, if he ever does in the next millennium, maybe it’ll become that important.
“These fights, his bank account is so big that the urgency isn’t there. That’s part of why he doesn’t do the second volley. Why? Because to do the second volley, as he did a few years ago, it involves taking chances, and when you’re that wealthy and comfortable, you don’t want to take as many chances.
“The urgency to do it isn’t there anymore. There are very few people in this competitive world that are like Michael Jordan. He always had to do his best. He had to find a way.
“Canelo has dissipated physically, and he’s dissipated mentally and emotionally to where it’s not as big a deal to throw those extra punches, to go through that effort, that risk. It was right there for the world to see,” said Altas.
