Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will take a pay cut by facing John Ryder back home in Mexico instead of the United States, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
The undisputed super-middleweight champion looks set to take on WBO mandatory challenger Ryder on Cinco de Mayo weekend with reports suggesting the fight is heading to Jalisco.
Hearn believes an official announcement could come this week confirming the encounter with London southpaw Ryder – and says Canelo could be hit in the pocket if it lands in his hometown.
The 32-year-old has had his last three fights in money-spinning Las Vegas while more than 73,000 people attended the one before that – when he stopped Billy Joe Saunders at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Hearn said: “It’s not done yet but Ryder in May is the plan. He’s coming back from the injury and Ryder’s the first mandatory that he’s got at 68. Ryder is interim. He’s happy for that fight so now it’s just where? It will probably be USA or Mexico.
“I think Canelo would like to do a fight in Mexico but it’s a pay cut. We are thinking somewhere in Guadalajara but it’s still a big difference when you look at the gates.”
Ryder, meanwhile, is the current WBO interim champion by virtue of beating Zach Parker via retirement in November. This crack at Canelo would represent the 34-year-old’s first world title fight since he lost controversially on points to Callum Smith for the WBA belt in 2019.
Hearn added: “John Ryder beat Danny Jacobs for a load of money in February last year, did a deal with George Warren for a load of money to fight Zach Parker, thank you very much, and now he’s going to fight Canelo ALvarez.
“I said to him ‘If you beat Danny Jacobs, ‘wow you’re going to make a fortune’ and then I couldn’t get anything going for him. Then the Zach Parker fight came up which was a bit of luck really and won it and now – hopefully he’s going to get the Canelo fight but there’s still a bit of work to be done.
“I think this week hopefully we can announce.”