Wearing what appeared to be a retro Burger King shirt, John Ryder stared Canelo Alvarez down during their face-off on Wednesday, letting the superstar know that he means business and is coming to rip his undisputed super middleweight championship away from him on Saturday night at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) is fighting Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) at the ideal time, with him coming off career-worst performances against Gennadiy Golovkin & Dmitry Bivol in 2022 and hand surgery. There are a lot of people, including Ryder, who question whether the 32-year-old Canelo has it anymore.
In chronological years, Canelo is still a young fighter, but in terms of ring wear and recent performances, he’s fighting at the level of a guy in his early 40s.
Proof of that is Canelo barely beating 40-year-old Golovkin last September. He would have lost that fight if Golovkin had started pressing the action in the first half instead of waiting in the second part of the contest.
“Yeah, he can [win]. There’s no point in being a snide. It’s like when Canelo boxed Bivol. Canelo has become a good friend. He’s very important to our business and important to DAZN,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV.
“Then you’ve got John Ryder grafting his whole career. We’ve done our very best, and we’ve done a good job with him to give him great opportunities and, finally, a legacy, life-changing opportunity. If he wins, I’ll be absolutely over the moon for him.
“Can he win? Yes. Is it a huge mountain to climb? Yes,” Hearn said about Ryder. “He’s fighting the pound-for-pound #1 or thereabouts in Guadalajara in front of 55,000 people. Is it a mountain to climb? Everest.
“I’ve never seen John so calm, and it’s never been a better time to fight Canelo Alvarez. Unquestionably. He’s coming off surgery, and two okay performances, but this is John’s best chance. He’s a massive outsider. I’ll tell you what.
“They’re [Team Ryder] are right up for him, and they won’t come to see the final bell. They’ll press him [Canelo], they’ll sit on his chess and make fight. It’ll be a great fight. I’m really pleased for John, and I’m really pleased for [trainer] Tony [Sims] to be out there getting this opportunity.
“This is for them. Forget about us. Just imagine what John Ryder has come from and what he’s been through. Getting stopped for the British title and losing close decisions to Rocky Fielding. Losing a title defense to Callum Smith for the world title and coming back and beating [Bilal] Akkawy in Vegas on a Canelo card.
“Right back out of nowhere, beats Daniel Jacobs, beats Zach Parker. Who’d have thought that John Ryder would be fighting for the undisputed super world championship in front of 50,000 people in Guadalajara against Canelo Alvarez? I love s**t like that. That, to me, is everything.
“I got to be honest with you. Two years ago, I thought, ‘What am I going to do with John? I can’t get a break for him.’ Then I managed to get the right for the Jacobs fight. The Zach Parker fight came out of nowhere, and he took it on a Frank Warren show. He won that, and now we’re here. Bloody good luck to him,” said Hearn.
