At least some of Canelo Alvarez’s fans were none too pleased following his recent announcement.
After spending the last few years facing the very best at both the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, Alvarez will return to the ring to take on a far lesser foe. On May 6th, in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, Alvarez will test out his surgically repaired left hand on the noggin of John Ryder.
The 34-year-old contender out of Islington, London, has experienced several ups and downs throughout his career. However, as of late, he ostensibly found his stride. With four consecutive victories under his belt, including against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker, Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) established himself as Alvarez’s WBO mandatory challenger.
Ultimately, while Ryder has seemingly earned his stripes, there has been at least one portion of Alvarez’s supporters that are ho-hum on their upcoming clash. In any event, despite being pegged as a significant favorite, Alvarez is paying no attention to those who are giving Ryder no chance at winning. Considering that the Mexican star was expected to take care of business when he made his foray into the light heavyweight division early last year, Alvarez is taking no chances in his preparation.
“Look, everybody said the same thing when I fought with (Dmitry) Bivol,” said Alvarez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “You never know in boxing. It’s supposed to be that way but we never know.”
Of course, as Alvarez alludes to, Dmitry Bivol proved that the pound-for-pound luminary was biting off a bit more than he can chew during their May of 2022 showdown. Although he knows good and well that Ryder and Bivol are two completely different fighters with polar opposite skill sets, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) believes that his shortcomings against Bivol are a pertinent comparison heading into the Ryder fight.
Well before the two tangoed in the center of the ring, oddsmakers were convinced that the Russian native, regardless of his glaring size advantage, would have his light heavyweight reign truncated. But, in spite of their claims, Alvarez was unable to drum up the panacea to Bivol’s tactics on the night.
Alvarez’s endgame, should things go according to plan, is to lure Bivol back into the ring in the second half of the year. But while the 32-year-old is chomping at the bit to exact his revenge, he won’t allow hubris to seize control and overlook what Ryder brings to the table.
“I’m going to train 100% and not be so confident.”