Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s working at getting Canelo Alvarez’s next fight negotiations with John Ryder over the finish line for May 6 on DAZN in Guadalajara, Mexico. If everything goes right, the Canelo-Alvarez fight will be ready to be announced next week.
This will be a title defense for Canelo’s undisputed super middleweight championship against his WBO mandatory Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs), who Hearn also promotes.
Fans have mixed feelings about Canelo potentially fighting the 34-year-old Ryder because there are at least a half a dozen fighters that they would prefer the Mexican star face over this guy.
The argument in favor of Canelo fighting Ryder is that he needs a tune-up after coming off left wrist surgery, but at this stage in his career, he’s beyond the need for warm-up fights.
Canelo has so much experience, and he fought just last September against Gennadiy Golovkin. The Canelo-Ryder fight is going to happen regardless of what Canelo’s fans want.
Listening to Hearn talk, it appears he’s got his next two fights for Canelo potentially lined up after Ryder. If Canelo wins against Ryder, the Dmitry Bivol rematch will be his September fight, and then possibly new Matchroom signee Edgar Berlanga in the first half of 2024.
Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs), a highly ranked super middleweight contender, will need to win his next two fights against world class opposition for him to get the Canelo fight. Daniel Jacobs is rumored to be Berlanga’s first of two fights before he gets the Canelo match.
“Not yet. Saul has announced his next fight will be on 6 May in Guadalajara; John Ryder is definitely the front-runner for that,” said Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to the Metro when asked if Canelo’s fight against Ryder is official yet.
Ryder fits in with the Rocky Fielding, Billy Joe Saunders, and Callum Smith-level fights. Like those guys, Ryder is from the UK and not a world-beater by any stretch of the imagination.
He’s a blue-collar type of fighter who wins fights more on hard work rather than being blessed with amazing talent. Ryder is with Hearn, and he fights in the same weight class as Canelo. Hence, he’s poised to be getting the shot.
With that said, Canelo-Ryder isn’t the type of fight that will stop the bleeding with subscribers leaving DAZN in reaction to their huge price increases. If Canelo and Hearn wanted to take one for the team, they’d face someone the fans would wish to see the Mexican star fight. That would be one of these killers:
- David Benavidez
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
- Jermell Charlo
- Errol Spence Jr
- David Morrell
“We are still trying to finalize the contracts for that fight, and hopefully, you will get an announcement next week,” continued Hearn about the Canelo vs. Ryder fight. “Now we are just working on getting everything over the line.
‘It is a massive fight for John. I really feel like he deserves it, and we are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to appear on a historic show,” said Hearn.
