John Ryder got more than a moral victory by going the distance with Canelo Alvarez.
According to his promoter, Eddie Hearn, Ryder now stands to gain offers for “big” opportunities, despite losing a unanimous decision to Alvarez, the undisputed champion at 168, last Saturday night at Estadio Akron in Alvarez’s hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. The much feted homecoming event—attended by more than 50,000 fans—was the first time Alvarez fought in his homeland in 12 years.
Alvarez, 32, dropped the southpaw Ryder once (and also broke his nose early on) en route to outpointing the Islington native over 12 rounds via scorecards that read 120-107, 118-109, and 118-109.
Despite the lopsided tallies, Ryder made a name for himself by refusing to wilt in the early rounds and by making things interesting in the late rounds, when it was evident that Alvarez was fatigued.
Now Hearn, whose company, Matchroom, promotes both fighters, believes Ryder will have no shortage of elite fighters wanting to challenge him, if for no other reason to see if they can use him as a measuring stick in relation to Alvarez. One opponent Hearn has in mind is former middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I think his stock rises in defeat,” Hearn said of Ryder in an interview with iFL TV. “He was well-beaten, but he was competitive, especially in the backend of the fight.
“Gennadiy Golovkin [could be a possible high-profile name for Ryder in the future],” Hearn said. “You’ve got other fights coming up now. There are a lot of vacant titles being up for grabs at middleweight. John’s name now and his profile has risen in America. He can land a big fight against a big name American: [WBC middleweight titlist Jermall] Charlo, [former two-division titlist and current 168-pound contender Demetrius] Andrade—I know he’s looking for fights. So who knows.
“When you go 12 rounds with Canelo Alvarez there’ll always be some people that’d want to fight John Ryder to see if they can stop him to make a statement against Canelo Alvarez. We’re not looking to be anyone’s statement, but if John wants to continue at this level there’ll be a lot of opportunities for him.
“He should be proud of that performance and realize that he’s a world class fighter,” Hearn added. “There’s some big fights for him out. Obviously it was a tough defeat and he took some punishment tonight but he’ll be back.”
Sean Nam is the author of the forthcoming book Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.