Canelo Alvarez galvanized his hometown crowd Saturday night, but an unbelievably brave John Ryder took the Mexican icon the distance in his homecoming fight.
Boxing’s undisputed super middleweight champion beat the British southpaw by unanimous decision in their 12-round, 168-pound championship clash at a sold-out Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico. Alvarez, who was born and raised in neighboring Guadalajara, battered Ryder early in their bout, badly damaged his nose, knocked him down during the fifth round, hurt him again in the ninth round and won their DAZN Pay-Per-View main event on all three scorecards.
Judges Jeremy Hayes (120-107), Gerardo Martinez (118-109) and Joe Pasquale (118-109) scored their fight for Alvarez by wide distances. A resilient Ryder remarkably battled through the blood flowing from his nose for nine-plus rounds and landed enough shots at times to keep Alvarez honest.
“It’s a historic moment for me,” Alvarez told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I’m blessed to be here with my people, like I say, who support me from the beginning. I’m glad to be here and I’m very thankful [for] my people.”
Alvarez, 32, retained his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships. London’s Ryder, 34, was the WBO’s mandatory challenger for one of Alvarez’s four super middleweight titles.
Alvarez, a four-division champion, improved to 59-2-2 (39 KOs). Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) avoided what would’ve been the second knockout defeat since he turned pro in September 2010.
His opponent’s toughness didn’t surprise Alvarez, who fought for the first time since he underwent surgery in October to repair ligament damage in his left wrist.
“He’s a very strong fighter, man,” Alvarez said. “And, you know, when he went for everything … they become more difficult than usual. But I know that. I’m in this position a lotta times and I know that. And I respect my opponents because I know they’re coming for everything.”
Alvarez, who was a 16-1 favorite over Ryder, intends to secure a light heavyweight championship rematch with WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on September 16 now that he has defeated Ryder. Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) upset Alvarez by unanimous decision in their 12-round, 175-pound title bout last May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A prideful Alvarez obviously wanted the knockout in the 12th and final round Saturday night, but a stubborn Ryder stood his ground and fought the heavily favored superstar during those final three minutes. Alvarez expressed respect for his gritty challenger as soon as the final bell sounded.
Ryder backed up Alvarez with a right hand a little less than two minutes into the 11th round. A right by Alvarez made Ryder move away from him 40 seconds into the 11th round.
Alvarez hurt Ryder late in the ninth round, but Ryder made the 10th round competitive by trading hard shots with the champion. Alvarez landed a hard right toward the end of the 10th round, but Ryder took it well.
Ryder blocked several of Alvarez’s right hands during the ninth round, but Alvarez’s right rocked Ryder with just over 40 seconds to go in it. Another right hand by Alvarez knocked Ryder into the ropes with 35 seconds remaining in the ninth round.
Though hurt moments earlier, Ryder implored Alvarez to hit him some more toward the end of the ninth round.
Ryder went down just before the eighth round ended, but Griffin correctly ruled that he tripped over Alvarez’s leg. The challenger blocked Alvarez’s right hand before he fell to the canvas.
Ryder landed two right-left combinations at just about the midway mark of the seventh round. Alvarez fired right back with right hands, though, and wasn’t affected by those shots.
Ryder landed a left hook and a left uppercut back-to-back with just over a minute remaining in the sixth round, but he didn’t get maximum leverage on either shot. Alvarez’s right hand knocked Ryder into the ropes with just under 1:50 on the clock in the sixth round.
A left-right combination by Alvarez dropped Alvarez with 1:35 to go in the fifth round. He got up by the time Griffin’s count reached eight, but he was hurt and had blood gushing from his damaged nose.
Ryder threw enough punches to keep Alvarez from finishing him in the fifth round, but his face was a bloody mess when he went back to his corner once the bell sounded to end it.
Alvarez blasted Ryder with a flush right hand with just under 35 seconds to go in the fourth round, when Ryder bled profusely from his nose. Alvarez cracked Ryder with a right hand 1:10 into the fourth round.
Ryder’s right hook connected with about 20 seconds to go in the third round, but Alvarez otherwise dominated that round.
Alvarez blasted Ryder with a right hand that backed the challenger into the ropes 1:15 into the third round. A prior right hand by Alvarez caused Ryder’s nose to bleed badly early in the third round.
Ryder landed a hard jab a minute into the second round, but Alvarez connected with two flush right hands in the opening minute of the second round.
Alvarez’s right hand backed Ryder into the ropes with about 35 seconds to go in the opening round. Ryder initiated multiple clinches during the first round to prevent Alvarez from punching.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.