Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. John Ryder | DAZN - 6 May 2023

[DrDuke]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

Is he the worst Brit to fight Canelo?

Probably in terms of fighting a more near prime Canelo.

[DrDuke]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

Is he the worst Brit to fight Canelo?

Probably in terms of fighting a more near prime Canelo.

Well, it's tricky. Who's the best? Callum Smith? Ryder won on many cards against him. For some reason it's tough to put Saunders over everyone. Hatton definitely gotta be worse. Liam Smith is about the same.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

Is he the worst Brit to fight Canelo?

Probably in terms of fighting a more near prime Canelo.

Well, it's tricky. Who's the best? Callum Smith? Ryder won on many cards against him. For some reason it's tough to put Saunders over everyone. Hatton definitely gotta be worse. Liam Smith is about the same.

Hatton didn’t fight him at his peak.

[garethhop]

Absolutely no interest in this fight. But delighted for John to get a payday.

I remember watching him on the Bellew-Brudov undercard. He was put on after the main event, fought a guy wearing trainers and had exactly two fans there.

Deserved the decision against Smith? Was gifted one agains Jacobs and took the opportunity against Parker.

Hope he comes out nice and safe and can maybe then finish with a good win.

[ashall2]

I’ll be in Dubai for this. Will I be able to access a UK DAZN subscription whilst in another country?

No.

Brilliant - another great selling point of DAZN.

[Boxerbeetle]

Is he the worst Brit to fight Canelo?

Probably in terms of fighting a more near prime Canelo.

Well, it's tricky. Who's the best? Callum Smith? Ryder won on many cards against him. For some reason it's tough to put Saunders over everyone. Hatton definitely gotta be worse. Liam Smith is about the same.

Hatton didn’t fight him at his peak.

Good point. Peak Matthew Hatton gets the job done, no question.

[mickey1975]

Rocky from Stocky.

[Ruthless-RKO]

John Ryder: "I've Earned This Shot At Canelo Three Times Over; I Really Deserve To Be Here"

“It seemed like a lifetime away months and years ago,” Ryder said. “But I’m finally here now and I feel like I really do deserve to be here. I’ve paid my dues in this sport and I’ve earned this shot three times over for me. So, yeah, I feel like I really deserve to be here and deserve this shot.”

“Don’t shoot me down,” Ryder said. “I’m still dreaming, so let me live my dream. And listen, keep your opinions to yourself. I’m not reading them, don’t care. I’m doing this for me. I’m not doing it for you. Go about your business. Life can’t be that bad that you gotta worry about me too much.”

[chinarich]

Fighters do all the work for these big fights and it doesn't get much bigger than Canelo on his home turf, hopefully Ryder can acquit himself well. Hard to see how he wins this, though, he'd need to knock him out twice just to get the decision in Mexico...

[Coco]

Fighters do all the work for these big fights and it doesn't get much bigger than Canelo on his home turf, hopefully Ryder can acquit himself well. Hard to see how he wins this, though, he'd need to knock him out twice just to get the decision in Mexico...

Fingers crossed he will earn proper money.

[cormack]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

Ryder will push canelo harder than anyone thinks - I can see a 12 round points win for Canelo but a hard nights work for sure .
Ryder can be horrible to watch but very effective at nullifying his opponent in the clinches and spoiling the game plan .

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bolotniks will fight Gvozdyk on the undercard

[tonyevs]

Have there been any more deserved mismatches in the history?

Ryder has done a good job recently. But it's so hard to fancy competition here.

Ryder will push canelo harder than anyone thinks - I can see a 12 round points win for Canelo but a hard nights work for sure .
Ryder can be horrible to watch but very effective at nullifying his opponent in the clinches and spoiling the game plan .

Agreed. Canelo will definitely be thinking of his next opponent instead of Ryder. Could be a great opportunity for Ryder ..

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ryder: "The Plan is To Beat Canelo - Then Ask Him 'When Do You Want The Rematch?'"

Ryder said: “Look, I know there has been a lot of negativity towards me as the choice of opponent. Let’s be fair, people just want to see him fight Benavidez or do the Bivol rematch.

“But in his words, he’s coming back from injury and he wants to test everything out - and I’m that test.

“But listen, I’ve got other plans, why would I care what people think? I don’t really care what people say about me or what they think about the fight. If anything it will push me on.

“I have a job to do so now it is about me making sure I do that to the best of my ability, not worry about what people say about the fight. It means I will be proving a lot of people wrong doesn’t it?

“Since I’ve been back in England I’ve had a lot of well wishers. Nobody has called me a wanker yet but there’s still time for that.

"Nobody has told me I’m going to get smashed yet - obviously on social media they have, many times. But out and about people have been wishing me luck and it’s been nice.”

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“I imagine it won’t be a factor here,” he adds. “He dropped the ball massively with the Bivol defeat, and didn’t look vintage in the Golovkin fight. Everything was expecting him to go in there and blast Golovkin away but that didn’t happen. He’s coming off an injury as well so it all remains to be seen if he has still got it as well but it’s not about complacency.

“People have asked me if I feel the pressure. The pressure is on him - he’s back home for the first time in 12 years, he needs to make a statement after the injury and the Bivol loss. He wants to prove he has plenty left if he is hoping to rematch Bivol so he needs to be dealing with me handily doesn’t he?”

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Ryder said: “We got the first draft through three weeks ago and that got changed, a few amendments which got handled pretty quickly. We signed it early in March and then we did the press tour.

“I know there was an issue with Mexican broadcast rights and DAZN which held things up a bit. But it’s full steam ahead for us now, Eddie has a part in the promotion albeit as a co-promotion with Canelo, and I’m set on making history.

“I’m happy with it, we’re both getting paid. It’s good for everyone. There’s a rematch clause, on his side obviously, not mine. But that’s the plan; beat him May 6 and then ask him ‘when do you want the rematch?’ I’m thinking bring it back to the UK or go to Vegas for that one.”

[Frostieballs]

Other than seeing Ryder getting a payday, this fight holds zero boxing interest.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Undercard

In the co-feature, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Martinez (19-2, 14 KOs) defends his WBC Flyweight title against Panama’s Ronal Batista (15-2, 9 KOs). Martinez was supposed to face his mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo on this card but that bout looks to once again be delayed.

Batista, a super flyweight with little profile, is coming off three consecutive wins since his decision loss to Mikhail Aloyan (4-1) in Russia in 2019. Martinez last fought in December when he scored a 12-round majority decision win over Spain’s Samuel Carmona.

This shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for Martinez and the plan will likely be a unification fight as soon as possible. Sunny Edwards and Bam Rodriguez, should he win tonight, are expected to meet in a unification fight in July leaving Ukraine’s WBA champion Artem Dalakian for Martinez.

Former WBC Light Heavyweight champion Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk (18-1, 14 KOs) will face Latvia’s Ricards Bolotniks (19-6-1).

Bolotniks was supposed to face Craig Richards on the April 1 Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin undercard in a reschedule of their Nov 26 fight, which fell apart at the 11th hour due to an illness from Richards, but the Londoner suffered a hand injury ruling him out of a fight with Bolotniks for the second time.

‘Lion’ Bolotniks instead gets an opportunity on another major card against Gvozdyk, who was at one point considered a top 3 in the division. Gvozdyk has only laced up the gloves once in a professional ring since his tenth rounds stoppage defeat at the hands of Artur Beterbiev in Oct 2019 – a six-round decision win in February.

Gvozdyk has teamed up with Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso who has assisted him in landing a slot on the undercard.

Australia’s Stevie Spark (16-2, 14 KOs) and Mexico’s Gabriel Valenzuela (26-3-1, 16 KOs) clash on the show in a 10-round Super Lightweight attraction for Valenzuela’s WBA Continental title.

Spark upset Montana Love in Cleveland last November. The Aussie dropped Love in the second and was bizarrely thrown out of the ring by the American in the sixth which led to Spark winning via disqualification.

Valenzuela also faced Love last May when he suffered a decision loss on the Canelo Bivol undercard in a largely forgettable fight. Since then he has bounced back with a first-round KO over Yves Ulysse Jr in Canada.

Prelims

Nathan Devon Rodriguez (10- 0) VS Alexander Mejia (19-5), 10 Rounds Featherweight
Bek Nurmaganbet (8-0) VS Argenis Espana (15-1), 8 Rounds Lightweight
Lawrence King (11-1) VS Elio German Rafael (19-4), 8 Rounds Super Middleweight
Abilkhan Amankul (2-0) VS Jesus Moroyoqui Palomares (7-3-1), 8 Rounds Super Featherweight
Johansen Alvarez Suarez (9-0-1) VS Johan Rodriguez Arreguin (4-0), 6 Rounds Super Featherweight
Jesus Larios (0-0) VS Alejandro Curiel (0 -0-1), 4 Rounds Light Flyweight
Carlos Rojo Vazquez (7-0) VS TBA, 4 Rounds Super Welterweight

[polecateddy]

Altitude 1500 metres, average temp in May is 33 degrees, climate tropical and it’s an open air stadium. Reminds me a bit of the pee shooter against the tank type match that was Holligan v Chavez!

[Flump]

Good analogy tbf, Holligan gave it a go but was badly outclassed, I imagine Canelo will be roided to the gills too, which makes things even harder.

But Ryder is tough and deserves his shot, I hope he does himself proud.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Undercard

In the co-feature, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Martinez (19-2, 14 KOs) defends his WBC Flyweight title against Panama’s Ronal Batista (15-2, 9 KOs). Martinez was supposed to face his mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo on this card but that bout looks to once again be delayed.

Batista, a super flyweight with little profile, is coming off three consecutive wins since his decision loss to Mikhail Aloyan (4-1) in Russia in 2019. Martinez last fought in December when he scored a 12-round majority decision win over Spain’s Samuel Carmona.

This shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for Martinez and the plan will likely be a unification fight as soon as possible. Sunny Edwards and Bam Rodriguez, should he win tonight, are expected to meet in a unification fight in July leaving Ukraine’s WBA champion Artem Dalakian for Martinez.

Fights off.

Arroyo has pulled out

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Referee: Michael Griffin

Judges:
Joseph Pasquale (New Jersey)
Jeremy Hayes (Ontario, Canada)
Gerardo Martinez (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

[Ruthless-RKO]

[tiny_acres]

The WBC has to make a new belt every time Canelo fights. It is a joke

[THEBUTCH]

I'm delighted for Ryder after putting in the hard yards throughout his career. He's a lesson to other boxers that if you keep active & dedicated to the sport big opportunities may come your way.

Canelo's a colossal favourite but I'm looking forward to seeing John do the best he can in the face of overwhelming odds. A fight for all the dreamers out there.

I'd also much rather see a new challenger like Ryder go up against Álvarez than the likes of Yildrim, Saunders, Fielding and even the 3rd fight with Golovkin that was entirely unnecessary.