Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has said that ‘he’s done’ if John Ryder beats him this weekend in Mexico.
Canelo will defend his four 168lb titles against London’s Ryder in the first fight in his home country since 2011.
It will be the Mexican’s 63rd bout in a pro career that kicked off way back in 2005, has dipped into six weight classes and claimed multiple world championships.
He’s coming off the back of hand surgery, and a defeat to Dmitry Bivol last year at light heavyweight before a below-par winning showing against Gennady Golovkin have left many in the sport wondering if he’s on the way out.
The 32-year-old became undisputed back in 2021 against Caleb Plant, and the Ryder fight will be his second defence of that title.
Asked by DAZN to address rumours that he was fighting back home because it would be his final run out, Canelo smiled, but did make one promise.
“Look, if John Ryder beats me, I’m done.”
The Brit hasn’t travelled to Guadalajara to just take part – he’s made that much clear. He’ll be performing in front of that 50,000 something crowd to take the undisputed super middleweight title in what would be considered one of the biggest upsets the sport has ever seen.
The 32-5 fighter is nothing if not driven, and deserves the shot in the eyes of many after his first losing his first world title shot against Callum Smith back in 2019 after many thought he had done enough to win.
It’s a big task though – about 8/1 if you ask the bookmakers – and Canelo, even if many feel his 2022 was lacklustre, was born to perform on a stage like this.