John Ryder will wake up this morning in Guadalajara.
The 34-year-old Englishman who’s been paid for punching for the last 13 years is just four days short of the biggest opportunity of his career, deep in the home territory of his imminent opponent.
It’s a guy you might have heard of.
Goes by the name of Canelo Alvarez.
The Mexican superstar has been the biggest commodity in boxing for nearly a full decade, essentially since he played B-side to the sublime skill of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.
Meanwhile, Ryder has been working the smaller rooms across the United Kingdom – save for higher-profile dates at the Copper Box Arena in 2013 and the Echo Arena in Liverpool in 2017 and 2019.
On those three occasions, he stepped to the forefront of the British scene for matches with Billy Joe Saunders, Rocky Fielding, and Callum Smith, losing competitive decisions for regional titles in the first two instances and a wider verdict in the third in a first career grab for a world championship.
Those three fighters have something in common, too.
All three have also fought and lost to Alvarez – two by KO and the third by a wide decision.
So if you think it sounds like a good story but probably a lost cause, you’re not alone.
He’s an 8-to-1 underdog for those interested in placing a wager on his behalf via DraftKings while Alvarez is a 16-to-1 favorite, meaning it’d take a $1,600 outlay to earn a $100 profit.
But you’ll forgive Ryder if he doesn’t agree.
And if he’s determined. Or at least sounds it.
“It’s a great opportunity that has not been gifted,” he said. “I’ve worked hard at this for years. I’ve suffered the highs, the lows, the bottom of the barrel, really.
“Obviously the decision went against us (against Smith) in 2019, then the Covid times hit, which really messed everything up. I truly believe timing is everything in this sport. It waits for no man, but the timing is right for me now.”
Ryder indeed returned from the loss to Smith after a 13-month hiatus and scored consecutive wins over comparatively anonymous foes Mike Guy (UD 10) and Jozef Jurko (TKO 5). He then opened 2022 with a split 12-round decision over ex-middleweight claimant and former Alvarez challenger Daniel Jacobs.
He was a TKO winner over previously unbeaten Zach Parker as well nine months later when his countryman retired with a broken right hand after four rounds.
That win gave him the WBO’s interim title and put him in line for Alvarez, who was on the shelf himself following surgery after a September defeat of Gennadiy Golovkin and looking for a foe to appear opposite him when he returned to action with his first fight in Mexico in more than a decade.
It’ll be just the fourth work trip outside the UK for Ryder, who defeated Bilal Akkawy (TKO 3) on the undercard of Alvarez’s defeat of Jacobs in Las Vegas in 2019 and beat the aforementioned Guy on the Golovkin-Kamil Szeremeta show in Hollywood, Florida the following year.
His most recent fight away from home was against the also aforementioned Jurko in Austria.
The Mexico trip, he insists, will end with an international victory lap for a long-suffering team.
“(Trainer Tony Sims has) been a rock in my career and someone that’s brought me back from the bottom and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Ryder said. “Down to my mum and dad, my partner, and you know what, down to myself because if I give up on myself then I won’t be here. I’ve dug deep, I’ve done what I’ve had to do, I’ve worked hard to get back into this mandatory position, took the right fights at the right times, and I’m just really pleased to be here.
“I’m not here for a holiday and I wouldn’t bring the team with me, have the team around me that I have if I didn’t believe I could win. I’m going, leaving no stone unturned, putting everything in this camp and truly believe I can come away victorious.”
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This week’s title-fight schedule:
IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight titles – Zapopan, Mexico
Canelo Alvarez (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. John Ryder (WBO interim/No. 5 IWBR)
Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KO): Third WBO defense; First fight in Mexico since 2011
Ryder (32-5, 18 KO): Second title fight (0-1); Four straight wins since title-fight loss (4-0, 2 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Ryder’s a rugged guy and a capable pro and he’ll certainly give a legitimate effort, but he’s in with a guy on another level. It’d be an unbelievable upset. But it won’t happen. Alvarez in 5 (100/0)
WBC flyweight title – Zapopan, Mexico
Julio Cesar Martinez (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Ronal Batista (Unranked WBC/Unranked IWBR)
Martinez (19-2, 14 KO): Sixth title defense; Unbeaten at or below flyweight limit (8-0, 2 NC, 6 KO)
Batista (15-2, 9 KO): First title fight; Lost only previous fight outside of Panama in 2019 (0-1)
Fitzbitz says: Martinez has been a reliable commodity at 112 pounds and Batista isn’t ranked by the WBC in the weight class. That’s not a good sign for the Panamanian challenger. Martinez in 6 (99/1)
Last week’s picks: None
2023 picks record: 11-4 (73.3 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,261-412 (75.4 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body’s full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA “world championships” are only included if no “super champion” exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.