John Ryder would have every reason to feel uncomfortable about the daunting assignment he has accepted for Saturday night.
The British southpaw will face one of the best boxers of this generation, their division’s undisputed champion, in what has been billed as a celebration of Canelo Alvarez’s incredible career near his hometown. A capacity crowd in excess of 50,000 figures to pack Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, for the card headlined by Alvarez-Ryder.
The 32-year-old Alvarez, a four-division champion, grew up in nearby Guadalajara. He hasn’t boxed in his home country since he stopped Kermit Cintron in the fifth round of their November 2011 bout at Monumental Plaza de Toros Mexico, a famous bullring in Mexico City.
From what promoter Eddie Hearn has seen, though, London’s Ryder isn’t merely happy to have secured the biggest payday and greatest opportunity of his 12-year professional career.
”John Ryder’s here not to make up the numbers,” Hearn said during an interview posted to Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube channel Tuesday. “John Ryder’s here to try and create and achieve one of the greatest upsets from a British fighter of all time. But I’ve never seen John, weirdly, so confident going into a fight, especially as difficult as this. He’s had a great camp, he’s in the shape of his life, his confidence is at an all-time high.
“He feels, and I think he’s right, this is the best time to fight Canelo Alvarez. You know, he’s coming off his operation, coming off a couple of OK performances last year. And John’s confident. But he’s got it all to do, especially against that crowd.”
Alvarez understandably is a heavy favorite over Ryder, at least 16-1 according to most sportsbooks. He will fight for the first time since he underwent surgery to repair ligament damage in his left wrist in October.
Hearn, who is Ryder’s longtime promoter, realizes that the 34-year-old southpaw will have to fight very aggressively to make their 12-round main event competitive.
“You know, you can’t afford to have close rounds against Canelo Alvarez in Guadalajara,” Hearn said. “You’re coming into his backyard, you know, to the king of boxing, the undisputed champion, to rip the belts from him. And I expect John to fight aggressively in this fight. That’s why I honestly think it’s gonna be a great fight, because I don’t think John’s gonna just coast through rounds, losing rounds.
“He’s gonna have to get up close. He’s gonna have to get in his chest. He’s gonna have to get on the inside. And that’s all the things that’s gonna make Canelo Alvarez fight. And I think the styles will blend well, and I think it’ll be a great fight.”
Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will defend his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships against Ryder. London’s Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) won the WBO interim super middleweight title and became the mandatory challenger for one of Alvarez’s four belts by beating England’s Zach Parker (22-1, 16 KOs) in his last fight – an injury-induced technical knockout after the fourth round November 26 at O2 Arena in London.
DAZN will offer Alvarez-Ryder as the main event of a pay-per-view show in the United States. The five-fight card will cost DAZN subscribers $59.99 if it is bought through the streaming service’s website and $79.99 for non-subscribers through cable and satellite providers.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.