John Ryder is entering his fourteenth year as a professional fighter. The 35-year-old Londoner understands how the business of boxing works and knows exactly why Jaime Munguia’s team have decided to fight him in Phoenix on January 27th.
In May, Ryder lost a wide decision to undisputed super middleweight champion, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, but gave a decent account of himself in Guadalajara, battling through a broken nose to last the distance.
Unbeaten Munguia is one of a number of fighters angling for a showdown with ‘Canelo’ so what better way to stake his claim for a lucrative all-Mexican showdown than by beating Ryder in more impressive fashion?
Ryder believes that Munguia’s team have made a big mistake. Positive that the experience of sharing the ring with ‘Canelo’ has improved him as a fighter, he is planning on using the fight with Munguia as a springboard to a successful 2024.
“There’s a lot to take from it [the fight with ‘Canelo’]. I still believe I came away a winner. I took a lot of credit from that fight,” Ryder told Seconds Out. “I learned a lot about myself and feel like I’ll be a better fighter for that fight. I wish I’d had it ten years ago.
“I believe that 2024 will be the best year of my career. A good win over Jaime Munguia, hopefully make it the busiest year I’ve had in a long time and finish 2024 with three good wins under my belt and see what’s next.”
Ryder will be a man in demand should he get past Munguia. A rematch with ‘Canelo’ would be a hard sell but there will be plenty of other high profile options. It is over ten years since Ryder lost a split decision to Billy Joe Saunders but a rematch between the pair would still do good business, as would a fight with Chris Eubank Jnr. Ryder also threw the name of a modern legend into the mix.
“Beat Munguia on January 27th, a nice big fight in the summer, maybe a homecoming back in the UK having been on the road and then November/December lets go abroad again and fight another big name.
“You never know. Billy Joe, Golovkin. Anybody,” Ryder said when asked about potential opponents for that UK appearance. “Is [Golovkin] still fighting? If he is then it’d be great, if not then good luck and happy retirement.”