Canelo Álvarez made a victorious return to Mexican soil after a 12-year absence on Saturday night, winning a convincing decision over a bloodied but unbowed John Ryder to successfully defend his undisputed championship at 168 pounds in front of a rollicking hometown crowd.
The 32-year-old four-division champion busted Ryder’s nose in the third round, scored a heavy knockdown in the fifth and poured on the punishment in the later stages as the gulf in skill and class between the super‑middleweights became wincingly evident. The durable Londoner refused to quit and surprisingly conjured his best moments of the night in the final stretch but was left to settle for an ennobling defeat after finishing the bout on his feet before more than 50,000 raucous spectators at the Estadio Akron.
