Canelo Alvarez will return on his traditional date around Cinco de Mayo weekend for a homecoming fight in Mexico on Saturday night looking to defend his undisputed super middleweight title against John Ryder.
The event will take place at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, a soccer stadium located in the neighboring town of the Guadalajara, Jalisco-born Alvarez.
The match will mark the first time Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) has fought in Mexico since November 2011 when he scored a stoppage win against Kermit Cintron at the Monumental Plaza de Toros in Mexico City.
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene.com that the event will be staged to take place in front of 55,000 fans and a sellout crowd is expected.
“It’s going to be something special. I started my career in Guadalajara in little arenas and now I am in the biggest stadium. It’s going to be one of the best nights of my career for sure. I’m really excited about this fight,” Alvarez said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other reporters.
“I always had been thinking about fighting again in Guadalajara, of course. You expect something, but then the results are even better. I’m glad and grateful for the way people have responded. I am just enjoying this moment a lot. It’s hard to put on a fight like this and have people respond. It’s an honor for me. I am proud of it. I am going to bring everything that night … It’s not about money. A lot of things made it hard to bring the fight here. A lot of things needed to move. I’m happy I brought the fight here.”
The 32-year-old Alvarez held his training camp in San Diego and Mexico to prepare for Ryder.
“I’ve been enjoying everything,” said Alvarez. “I haven’t trained in Guadalajara for a long time. Training here for an entire month has been different. I feel different. My family is here. I’m glad to do this in my prime. My people deserve this because they supported me from the beginning.”
Alvarez said he will be heading into a fight feeling 100% for the first time since mid-2021. Alvarez underwent left wrist surgery last fall after dealing with the nagging injury during his fights against Caleb Plant, Dmitry Bivol, and Gennadiy Gennadiy Golovkin.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) – coming off the heels of a banner 2022 highlighted by wins against Zach Parker and Daniel Jacobs – will be looking to spoil the party and snatch Alvarez’s WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF, and Ring Magazine titles.
“It’s going to be a great fight with Ryder coming forward, and me too,” said Alvarez. “He is a good fighter and a southpaw who throws punches from everywhere. So it’s going to be a little difficult the first rounds, then I have the experience to handle it … They are more dangerous when they have nothing to lose. They want to bring everything to win everything. But I’ve been in this position a long time, so I know what to do.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.