Canelo Alvarez will defend his undisputed super middleweight crown against Britain’s John Ryder on May 6th, in the pound for pound star’s hometown of Guadalajara.
Ryder has been heavily tipped to land the lucrative pay day against Canelo for months now, and the fight was officially announced today.
The Mexican icon expressed his excitement at fighting in his homeland for the first time in over a decade, but was keen to let it be known that he would not be underestimating the challenge posed by Ryder.
“I feel really happy to be coming back in May because following my surgery, I was unsure of when I’d be coming back.”
“Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy. And in John Ryder, I’m facing a very competitive fighter.”
It will be Canelo’s first outing since his win in a trilogy bout against old foe Gennadiy Golovkin last September, and many believe it will serve as little more than tune up for a rematch with Dmitry Bivol later this year.
Ryder, however, let it be known that he has every intention of spoiling those plans at the Akron Stadium in just under two month’s time.
“I’m not going over there for a holiday. For me this is purely business and my full focus is on going into his backyard in Guadalajara on May 6 and bringing those belts back with me to the UK.
“I want to thank the team, Tony and Charlie Sims and Matchroom Boxing for making this happen.”
Known as “The Gorilla,” the Londoner is coming off two solid wins against Zach Parker and former Canelo opponent Danny Jacobs in 2022, with the former landing him the WBO interim world title and thus the ticket for a shot at the man who stands atop the 168lbs division.
The fight will be available as part of UK DAZN customer’s standard subscription, however is on pay per view for subscribers in the United States.