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Canelo Drops And Dominates A Valiant John Ryder In Mexico

Written by Kerr Ferguson on 7th May 2023.

Canelo vs John Ryder

Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez dominated an incredibly tough John Ryder in Guadalajara, Mexico, scoring a knockdown but failing to finish things early.

Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) fought his sixty third fight in his home country. The last time he was doing such a thing was 12 years ago. That was at super welterweight, this super middle. In the space between he has won some nine word titles and become the biggest superstar of boxing’s modern era in the eyes of many. With that in mind, he walked out with a crown in front of the 50,000 fans in the Estadio Akron. Fair.

In the opposite corner was Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) – the eighth Brit looking to spoil the party in Canelo’s career so far. It was to be ‘The Gorilla’s second world title challenge, the first a decision loss to Callum Smith in which many feel he was hard done by. For that reason alone, he felt he belonged on this DAZN headline slot.

The first was cagey, with both men opting for attempts to land power shots over jabs in the notably small 18×18 ring. Ryder’s southpaw stance presented a sufficient barrier to entry.

Canelo upped the tempo in the second, whipping shots in from every angle. Things looked most exciting close on the inside where Ryder had the potential to be sneaky.

It turned gladiatorial in Guadalajara in the third, with a right hand busting the nose of Ryder. The Mexican searched for a trademark uppercut as he applied the pressure. Ryder had success with the same shot, though, and the right hook found a home.

Canelo worked the body in the fourth. Ryder landed on the inside again, but he was walked down even during those pockets of success.

Ryder, who was struggling to breathe from the burst (broken?) nose, was sat down by a one-two in the middle minute of the fifth. He made the count and kept fighting, but the ending looked almost written.

Ryder came out valiantly in the sixth, having his best round so far. His guard was tighter in the seventh and the grit on show was commendable, personified by the blood coating his face.

The Brit had some success in the eighth before he went over again from a right hand, although this time it was rightly ruled a slip. He had a good start to the ninth too, perhaps proving the theory that Canelo could tire. Ryder was rocked in the last minute, though, and showed immense heart firing back.

Ryder had the faster hands in the tenth, and jabbed much more than he had before. Canelo’s pace had notably slowed, although winning the final rounds wouldn’t be nearly enough for the Londoner.

The Mexican was searching for the knockout in the championship rounds, but Ryder wasn’t reading from the same script and hung around to hear the final bell.

Canelo had flashes of brilliance, but the performance won’t do a massive amount to change the minds of those who think his absolute best days are behind him. He took it on the cards 120-107, 118-109, 118-109.

He is most likely to have another crack at Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight next. Many would prefer to see him stick around at 168lb and get in against David Benavidez. Whatever happens, this felt somewhat separated – a celebration of a Mexican fighting icon.