Reigning super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez returns home to take on John Ryder Saturday night.
Canelo Alvarez steps back into Mexico
For Canelo Alvarez, this is another opportunity to add yet another mark to his incredible glowing resume.
Alvarez will put his WBA (super), WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring titles on the line vs. John Ryder, the reigning WBO interim titleholder.
The event takes place from Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico. It will air live on DAZN pay-per-view in the United States.
Alvarez will be competing in Mexico for the first time since 2011 when he retained the WBC light middleweight belt for the third time with a win of Kermit Cintron.
From that bout on, Alvarez made his way to a 2013 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., which he lost via decision. In terms of the light middleweight and middleweight divisions, only a draw with Gennady Golovkin is a blunder on the resume.
Alvarez did drop a bout to Dmitry Bivol last May, but that came at light heavyweight. He returned in September of that year to defend his titles and conclude his rivalry with Golovkin, winning by unanimous decision.
John Ryder is a viable contender to Alvarez
Many might not know just who Ryder is, but “The Gorilla” presents some interesting challenges to the reign of Alvarez.
He claimed the interim title with a finish in the fifth round vs. Zach Parker last November, improving to 32-5 in the process. He has also held other titles, and went the distance with Callum Smith in 2019 for the WBA and The Ring super middleweight belts.
Of his 32 career wins, 18 of them have come by knockout, as the 34-year-old from London holds plenty of power in his left hand.
Julio Cesar Martinez also defends on card
In the co-main event, Julio Cesar Martinez and Ronal Batista collide for the WBC flyweight title. Martinez, also a native of Mexico, retained the belt when he bested Samuel Carmona in December.
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, another Mexican fighter, faces Steve Spark with the WBA Inter-Continental super lightweight title up for grabs.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Ricards Bolotniks meet in the light heavyweight division, while Nathan Devon Rodriguez faces Alexander Mejia at featherweight.
