John Ryder is not a fool and knows exactly what he will be facing once the ring walks, introductions and niceties have been completed on Saturday night here in Guadalajara.
Ryder will pause with the referee and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for a second in the centre of the ring, before the bell sounds to delight 50,000 fanatics in the Estadio Akron. Ryder swears he is prepared for the noise and emotion and he has so far not flinched under Canelo’s ice-cold stare.
Canelo has been called the boxing king of Mexico, this fight is his long, long overdue homecoming after 12 years on the road, and here in Guadalajara, it feels like a coronation is about to close the city down. During the last 24 hours, the police presence near the fight hotel has intensified, and the activity of all involved has become part of the show.
Meanwhile, on a lavish ranch in the hills outside town, Canelo walks through fields and feeds his prized stallions. Canelo is always the calmest man in any room, in any field, and in any ring.
“I will have all of Mexico in the ring with me,” Canelo said. That is, to be honest, how it feels.
There is every chance that Canelo vs Ryder, for all four of the recognised versions of the world title at super-middleweight, will be a very good fight. They say that styles make fights, which is true. However, the real cocktail of fury here is the very urgent need for Canelo to satisfy a nation, and for Ryder to pull off the biggest shock in British boxing history.
Canelo has lost just twice in a lifetime of fights as a professional; he can be dazzled, he can be manoeuvred to safe positions and he can get frustrated. Two unbeaten men have beaten him in 62 fights of a career that started at 15 years old in 2005.
In Ryder, however, Canelo will find a very willing dance partner for the type of fight that he loves. It has to be said that it is also the type of fight that Ryder loves. It is, perhaps, too easy to forget just how good Ryder is at being a pressure fighter. And he is smart with a good chin, ring endurance and bravery. Ryder is in Guadalajara on a mission.
There are reports – a polite way of referring to boxing rumours – that Canelo is finding it hard at the weight. The official weigh-in, which is all part of a convenient ritual, will be behind closed doors and will take place a full 27 hours before the first bell. It will help both of the men to rehydrate and move back to their normal weights; Ryder is taller and should be the bigger man, but Canelo always seems to reveal a ridiculous torso on fight night when he removes his robe.
“He will not have to go looking for me; I know I won’t have to go looking for him,” said Ryder.
In so many previous fights, the men Canelo has beaten have all sat in shock and wondered how they were so easily handled and hurt. “He makes you stop doing what you do best, and he makes you do what he wants you to do,” said Joe Gallagher, who was in the corner when Canelo beat Liverpool brothers Liam and Callum Smith. People have talked about the Canelo magic for a long time.
Canelo is cute with his movement, not flashy with his feet, but he can close down space and he does force good fighters to make mistakes. Ryder will not be on the outside of the ring, looking for space and trying to pick off Canelo; the Londoner will be close, his movement sensible, picking his punches and firing in his short southpaw uppercuts. It will take a bold strategy to beat the Mexican at close range; Ryder is clearly going to try and win the hard, hard way.
“John has not come here to make up the numbers and survive,” said Tony Sims, the man in Ryder’s corner. Sims is also his friend, and that might be crucial when the rounds get tough and bloody. And they will.
Canelo once struggled with a tall, slick southpaw, but that was in 2014 against Erislandy Lara; in 2021, Canelo stopped Billy Joe Saunders, who is a very tricky southpaw. Ryder is a quality pressure fighter and also a southpaw, which is not a common mix. There is every chance we will see the very best of Canelo under the stars, and there is every chance we will have to.
John Ryder has been overlooked, ignored and struggled for the recognition he deserves in his own long career. On Saturday night, he will walk over, tap gloves with the idol of all of Mexico, and a second later as the sound of the bell vanishes under a wall of noise, he will have the fight of his life. Canelo is the obvious favourite, but Ryder will be the hero in the Mexican ring.
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