John Ryder will attempt to climb a seemingly unscalable mountain this weekend, when he will an attempt to dethrone undisputed super middleweight king Saul Alvarez in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Seven Brits have previously tried their luck against ‘Canelo’ and came up short, with the likes of Amir Khan, Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith all finding the pound for pound star simply too much to handle.
Matthew Hatton, brother of Manchester legend Ricky, was the first man from these shores to roll the dice against Alvarez, losing a unanimous decision for the WBC light middleweight world title all the way back in 2011.
In recent interview with the BBC, Hatton offered some advice to Ryder ahead of Saturday night, based on his own experience with the Mexican, and warned ‘The Gorilla’ to make sure he has some painkillers on hand.
“Canelo was definitely the toughest test I faced in my 52 fight career. Even though he was only young when I boxed him, he was still 35-0 and he was physically so strong. Tremendous puncher power and he picked his shots so well.”
“He’s never had the fastest feet, though, so footwork is going to be very important for John Ryder.”
“Don’t let ego get in the way and get involved in a fight with Canelo! Use your boxing brain, try and be smart and pick your moments on when to box and when to fight.”
“My tip would be to take some paracetamol with you! I boxed him a good few years ago, and I’m still on two a day now. So make sure you pack some of them.”
The Estadio Akron will play host to the contest, which will be Canelo’s first outing in his homeland in well over a decade and is expected to draw out around 50,000 of his countrymen in support.
Though WBO interim champion Ryder is in the opposite corner on merit , the flame haired maestro is widely expected to emerge victorious and set up a rematch with old doe Dmitriy Bivol later in the year.