Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is a Mexican fighting idol and on Saturday, in front of nearly 50,000 fans, he returns to his beloved homeland to defend his four world titles.
Alvarez has not fought in Mexico since 2011, and his devoted flock have watched at a distance as their chosen boxer has become the world’s No 1 attraction. Canelo is the best fighter in the world at his weight and he is also the man with the best pay-per-view figures. Alvarez is a machine, a boxing machine.
In the opposite corner, at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara later this week, will be John Ryder, from Islington, a seasoned professional with a shed packed with different title belts. Ryder will be the seventh British boxer to fight Alvarez. It will be Alvarez’s 63rd fight, a record he started to build when he was just 15, a kid fighting for peanuts on a circuit now lost in time. He is 32 now.
Ryder secured the fight in Mexico when he forced Zach Parker to quit last November in just four rounds of their interim world-title fight; Ryder just knew too much on the night for the heavy betting favourite. Ryder is a very good fighter, just not a very fashionable fighter. The real prize for victory that night by the Thames, in the O2, was always more than the interim bauble; the prize was Canelo, exotic in both name and numbers, and a fight in Mexico for life-changing money. Ryder obviously believes that he can win, the money is just a bonus.
It will be a boxing carnival all week in Guadalajara, and the fight will be surrounded by noise and Canelo’s fans. They travel in their thousands to his big fights in Texas, Las Vegas and New York. They serenade their boxer when they sing his hypnotic personal anthem before the introductions, crying as they scream the words. This fight is an unofficial homecoming on a Mexican holiday, a national holiday to celebrate a victory on the battlefield; it will be a fevered day and night, and they will write songs about the night for a long, long time.
Back in 1993, I was in the majestic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for a similar homecoming fight. There was a record paid attendance of 132,247 on the day for Julio Cesar Chavez. It was a truly unforgettable night, an atmosphere of pure love and devotion and cheap beer. There was also an edge to the giant crowd that night; they had come for a Chavez win, and they had come for blood. Chavez obliged, stopping Greg Haugen in five rounds. Haugen was rescued by the referee, saved from any more of Chavez’s punches, but he was not spared from the anger and hate in the crowd. Ryder knows it will be serious on Saturday. And so does Canelo.
Last May, Canelo lost for just the second time in 61 fights when he moved to light-heavyweight and was beaten on points by Dmitry Bivol. He was back in a Las Vegas ring to win for the 58th time a few months later, and then Ryder became his challenger for the four world super-middleweight title belts that he holds. Canelo is still talking about a Bivol rematch, still looking at ways to make in excess of $35m for each of his fights. It is possible Canelo has finally started to see a little light shining at the end of his personal boxing tunnel; he has been fighting for different world titles since 2011 and he has been in so many record-breaking fights ever since. Ryder will be an ideal man to take testimony and get a measure of just what Canelo has left.
As the week comes to an end, the greatest fighters in Mexican history will migrate to the city and hustle for their seats at the fight. Not all the greats have all the wealth; Canelo is a man with a vast fortune and a ring career to make him a real contender for the greatest Mexican boxer. It is an imaginary, whimsical title, but it just might be the most serious one anywhere in the world. He is loved, worshipped and respected. So far, he has done little wrong, and his fortune looks safe. He is also the fight’s promoter.
In the Estadio Akron on Saturday night, under a large sky of burning stars, the child boxer will walk to the ring in front of 50,000 people, and he might just be the calmest man in the house.
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
