Canelo Alvarez feels the way he did in 2019 and 2020 now that he has recovered from surgery six months ago to fix his left wrist.
The damage to his wrist adversely affected Alvarez during training camps and fights that he both won and lost in recent years. Bolstered by the knowledge that he can use his left hand like he once did, the Mexican superstar is full of confidence as he prepares to battle British southpaw John Ryder on Saturday night at a sold-out Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico.
Alvarez assessed how much better he feels after working out for the media recently at his gym in San Diego.
“If I’m available to train a hundred percent, nobody can beat me,” Alvarez said. “That’s why I’m so motivated, because I’m able to train a hundred percent. And when I’m in that mode, nobody can beat me.”
The 32-year-old Alvarez announced after his 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over rival Gennadiy Golovkin last September 17 that he would have surgery on his left wrist before he returned to the ring. The four-division champion underwent the procedure in October and is eager to test out his repaired wrist for the first time in an actual fight against Ryder.
“It happened like two years ago,” Alvarez said. “And then I fight four times in 11 months, so that’s more and more [wear and tear].”
Guadalajara’s Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will defend his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles versus London’s Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs). Ryder, who won the WBO’s interim 168-pound championship in his last fight, is its mandatory challenger for one of Alvarez’s titles.
In addition to fighting for the first time since his wrist surgery, Alvarez will box in Mexico for the first time since he stopped Kermit Cintron in the fifth round of their November 2011 bout in Mexico City. Alvarez’s stoppage of Cintron headlined a card at Monumental Plaza de Toros Mexico, a famous bullring.
A capacity crowd in excess of 50,000 is expected to attend the Alvarez-Ryder card, which will take place just outside of Alvarez’s hometown.
Alvarez-Ryder is the main event of a pay-per-view show DAZN will stream in the United States.
DAZN subscribers in the U.S. can buy Alvarez-Ryder for $59.99, in addition to the cost of a one-month subscription ($19.99 or $24.99). Alvarez-Ryder is available through cable and satellite companies in the U.S. for $79.99 as well.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.