That’s all for tonight. Thanks as always for following along and be sure to check out the fight report here.
Álvarez wastes no time calling out light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. The pair met last year when Canelo made the climb 175lbs and Bivol beat Álvarez convincingly, handing the Mexican star his first defeat since 2013.
“Everybody knows we want the rematch with Bivol,” Álvarez says. “If the fight with Bivol doesn’t happen then we’ll see. I’m able to fight everybody.”
Would that fight need to take place at 175lbs?
Canelo says: “Same rules, same terms, same everything.”
That’s where it gets interesting. Álvarez wants the rematch to take place at light heavyweight, where he’d be a significant underdog but wouldn’t be putting his WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super middleweight titles at risk. But Bivol has insisted the fight take place at 168lbs, a weight where Canelo is far more comfortable, taking on a significant risk for the chance of winning all four of Álvarez’s belts.
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Álvarez: 'It's a historic moment for me'
“It’s a historic moment for me,” Álvarez says in his much-improved English. “I’m blessed to be here with my people who have supported me from the beginning. I’m glad to be here and thankful (to be here) with my people.”
The Mexican credits Ryder for being a “very strong fighter”, adding that his own status as boxing’s biggest star tends to bring that out in his opponents.
“He’s a very strong fighter, man,” Álvarez says. “When they’re going for everything (all the championship belts), they turn it on. They become more difficult than usual. But I know that. I’m in this position a long time and I know. I respect my opponents because I know they’re coming for everything.”
Asked about his surgically repaired left hand, Álvarez says it “felt really good” and that he’s “ready for everything”.
“Not in the beginning,” he says. “I needed a couple rounds, three rounds, to start punching to know I was good with the hand. But now I know.”
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Canelo Álvarez wins by unanimous decision over John Ryder!
To no one’s surprise, Alvarez wins the decision by scores of 120-107 and 118-109 (twice). That sets off fireworks (literally) and the homecoming kind is crowned with golden laurels and drape his championship weights over his shoulders.
Round 12
Ryder needs a knockout to win and he’s not going to get one, but what an unexpected finish to this one. He’s outthrowing Canelo, who looks frustrated and a little sapped. The Briton has Canelo along the ropes with half a minute to go and unloads on the champion’s midsection. And Ryder has finished the fight on his feet, an almost unthinkable outcome about a half-hour ago. Canelo will get the deserved decision, but Ryder has earned loads of respect throughout the boxing world for his showing of tenacity, experience and guile tonight.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Ryder (Álvarez 117-110 Ryder)
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Round 11
Ryder is giving an impressive and memorable account for himself. No one could have imagined he’d still be in this fight back in the fifth, when he went down in a heap and barely beat the count. Canelo keeps throwing single shots in search of the crowd-pleasing stoppage while Ryder has found a second wind, circling his opponent and throwing combinations. A tiring Álvarez looks a bit frustrated.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Ryder (Álvarez 108-100 Ryder)
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Round 10
A surprisingly inactive round for Canelo, whose stamina appears to be flagging, and a wounded Ryder manages to take advantage, doing enough to make it close. But Álvarez is still landing the bigger shots as the presses for the knockout.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 99-90 Ryder)
Round 9
Álvarez rocks Ryder badly with a series of right hands. Ryder is hurt! He’s hurt badly as he reels backwards into the ropes but he stays on his feet and he’s throwing back! What courage! Álvarez stalks his prey and lands another heat-seeking right that lands flush. And Ryder won’t go down! The referee is taking a very close look at the action but Ryder is throwing back just enough to buy him more time.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 89-81 Ryder)
Round 8
Ryder remains standing between rounds, a curious choice. Álvarez is telegraphing big right hands at Ryder, who is evading the big shot and throwing back valiantly but clearly in survival mode. Ryder goes down in the final seconds of the round after tripping over Álvarez’s lead foot, sending the crowd into hysterics, but the referee calls it correctly. Ryder may have done enough to nick it there against Álvarez, who is only throwing single shots in search of the knockout.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Ryder (Álvarez 79-72 Ryder)
Round 7
More of the same in the seventh. A bloodied Ryder is fighting his heart out but the gulf in ability and skill is evident.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 70-62 Ryder)
Round 6
Ryder is on rubbery legs to start the sixth. He’s showing a lot of heart and grit at this stage, throwing loads of punches in combination and landing more than a few, even if they don’t seem to bother Canelo much. It’s almost enough for Ryder to win the round against the run of play, but Álvarez is simply doing too much, even in a less active round like this one. The Mexican keeps tagging Ryder with big right hands upstairs, including one that really wobbled the challenger, and it seems like he’s only one big shot away from ending this thing.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 60-53 Ryder)
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Ryder down in round five!
Round 5
Ryder goes down under a one-two combination. The left then the straight right down Broadway that dumps Ryder to the canvas along the ropes. Will he beat the count? He’s looking at his corner! And he gets to his feet at nine! Lots of time left in the round. Ryder gets up and immediately starts throwing, badly bloodied but unbowed. Canelo closes in to finish the job but Ryder is throwing! He makes it to the bell, but how much longer can he last?
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-8 Ryder (Álvarez 50-44 Ryder)
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Round 4
Ryder breathing very heavily on his stool as his corner goes to work on his nose between rounds. The Briton is landing some clever counters, which serve the dual purpose of preventing Canelo from getting off combinations. But all of it seems to forestall the inevitable as Álvarez hammers away at Ryder’s midsection with a flagrant disregard for his power and watches patiently for the moment when his opponent drops that glove ...
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 40-36 Ryder)
Round 3
Álvarez lands a stiff right hand early in the round that lands flush on Ryder’s nose, which has started badly leaking blood and appears to be bothering the Islington southpaw. Álvarez is continues to target Ryder with the right hand. Ryder lands a chopping right hook upstairs on Álvarez but it doesn’t appear to faze the champion at all. Lots of blood on both fighters, all from Ryder’s leaky nose. One-way traffic.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 30-27 Ryder)
Round 2
Ryder is game and confident, throwing punches mostly from a distance. Álvarez continues to land with the left hook to the body. A good mix of head and body shots by the champion, but the left hand downstairs is the punch that’s scored with the most consistency through six minutes. Ryder is throwing back whenever Canelo lands anything of significance.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 20-18 Ryder)
Round 1
There’s the bell and the fighters meet at the center of the ring, circling one another and hardly throwing a punch between them in the opening minute. Álvarez connects with a left hook upstairs. Ryder backs up Álvarez along the ropes, who ducks into a shell defense and denies his opponent any scoring blows. Some crisp body shots by Álvarez, all scoring, before he connects with a right hand upstairs that backs Ryder up along the ropes.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Ryder (Álvarez 10-9 Ryder)
The fighters have been announced. The final instructions have been given. The seconds are out. We’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
John Ryder is making the long walk to the squared circle. Alive by Chase & Status plays from the stadium sound system amid a cacophony of boos and catcalls. He climbs through the ropes after making his approach at a near-canter and paces in the red corner while he waits for ...
... Canelo! The crowd is whipped into a frenzy as a highlight reel of the champion’s bone-crunching knockouts plays on the big screen. Another video package follows (while Ryder waits patiently in his corner), this one narrated by Ana María Barragán, Álvarez’s mother. That gives way to an ear-splitting, head-spinning production on an epic scale incorporating 150 mariachi band members, dancers, pyrotechnics. And there’s Canelo at the end of a runway, beneath a gold crown and wearing a black poncho. He’s smiling as he makes his way to the ring, pausing every few steps to shadowbox and play to the crowd. What scenes!
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Anthem time at the Estadio Akron. First it’s the anthem of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Then God Save the King, which prompts a less than enthusiastic reception from the near-full 50,000-seater. And then Himno Nacional Mexicano, the national anthem of Mexico, performed by the singer Beto Vega. The fighters should be making their entrances momentarily.
“I know it’s going to be hostile; I am prepared for it,” Ryder said this week. “I think to go and fight a champion, you should go to their backyard to take their titles and that’s what I am doing. Most fighters have gone to Vegas or Texas to fight him, but I’m in Guadalajara in the Lion’s Den.
“I think that the pressure is on him. It’s been a long time since he boxed here and who expects anything of me? No one. People think I am here for the paycheck, I am not, I am here to show that dreams can come true. I’ve worked hard to get here, and I deserve to be here.
“I think it is a good time to fight him, he has a lot of miles on the clock. Last year he had the Bivol defeat, I found it strange that he went back to light heavyweight, and then he went back to 168 and while I don’t think it was a bad performance, I think people were expecting him to stop him and put the final nail in the coffin of the trilogy and he didn’t, although he did win comfortably. Obviously, he’s had the surgery on his hand and maybe there’s question marks on wear and tear, but I want the best version of him because I will give the best version of me.
“I have to embrace the moment. After 12 rounds, my hand will be raised, and the new, from Islington, London, UK, undisputed world super middleweight champion, John Ryder. It’s a dream opportunity and I don’t plan to waste it.
“To prepare for him, you have to take him off his pedestal initially as he is who he is, but you won’t be able to get Canelo in to spar to prepare for Canelo. You work with what you can get which we have. Tony Sims is a great trainer and a real boxing historian, but it’s all very modern in my camp too. It’s been a different camp as I stayed with Joe Cordina for three weeks was fantastic, it’s one big family and he’s like a brother. He regained his world title so now it’s down to me.
“I have always believed that I was destined for bigger things. My career has always been a work in progress. I’ve got good people around me, familiar faces, and there’s nothing new here. I’m not in the main fight hotel so everything is a bit calmer, it’s nice and we’ll dial in when we need to.”
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Julio Cesar Martinez has just stopped Ronal Batista to retain his WBC flyweight title. The 28-year-old from Mexico City started off slow but came on strong in the second half of the fight before finishing off his opponent under a flurry of punches along the ropes in the 11th round. Next up: Canelo Álvarez v John Ryder.
AND STILL 👑#MartinezBatista #CaneloRyder pic.twitter.com/u7286JHW7p
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 7, 2023
Álvarez has promised “something special” for tonight’s main event. It’s Canelo’s 35th professional fight on Mexican soil but the first since 26 November 2011, when he stopped Kermit Cintrón inside five rounds in the third defense of his WBO title at 154lbs.
“It’s going to be something special after 12 years,” Álvarez said at yesterday’s ceremonial weigh-in at the Teatro Degollado. “I started my career here in Guadalajara in the little arenas. And now we are in the biggest stadium and the biggest response from the people. It’s going to be one of the best nights of my career for sure. I am really excited for this fight.
“I was always thinking about fighting again in Guadalajara of course. You can expect something special, and the result is even better. I’m glad and grateful that the people respond like this. I’m enjoying this moment a lot. I enjoy this because it is hard to put on this kind of fights and have people respond like this. It’s an honor for me and I’m proud of it. I’m going to bring everything tomorrow night.
“It wasn’t about money. There were a lot of things that made it hard to put the fight here. Everything, TV, moving, things had to change here in Guadalajara. It’s hard to do it but you know I’m happy I made this and I’m happy to bring this fight to Guadalajara.
“For a long time, I didn’t train here in Guadalajara so me training here for the whole month is different. I feel different. The vibes are different. My family is here. My grandma is here. So, it’s been different, but I enjoy everything. Eddy Reynoso said to me, ‘You need to enjoy this moment because you deserve it. Enjoy what you do because this is such a big thing.’ I am just enjoying and thanking all my people and the response is just amazing, so I enjoy it a lot.
“You know it is going to be a good fight when a fighter is coming forward. John is a good fighter. He’s southpaw and he throws punches from everywhere. It’ll be a little bit difficult in the first rounds, but I have the experience and I need to handle it.”
Álvarez, who has captured titles at four weights from 154lbs through 175lbs, came in at exactly 168lbs at Friday’s official weigh-in, which took place behind closed doors ahead of an affair for show later in the day. Ryder, who picked up the WBO’s interim title against Zach Parker in November and was declared Canelo’s mandatory challenger, came in one pound below the division limit at 167lbs.
Prelude
Hello and welcome to Guadalajara for tonight’s main event between Canelo Álvarez and John Ryder. It’s a long-awaited homecoming for boxing’s biggest star as the 32-year-old Álvarez fights in his hometown for the first time in 12 years, putting his WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super middleweight title belts on the line before an expected capacity crowd at the Estadio Akron, the 50,000-seat home of Liga MX side CD Guadalajara that is expected to host some matches at the 2026 World Cup.
Ryder, the 34-year-old Islington southpaw nicknamed the Gorilla, will go off as a 9-1 underdog in tonight’s fight. He’s a very long shot to succeed where seven others from Britain before him (Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Amir Khan, Liam Smith, Rocky Fielding, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders) have come up short. But with Álvarez entering off an uncommonly tepid 2022 campaign (which included a loss to Dmitry Bivol at 175lbs, a by-the-numbers points win over a faded Gennady Golovkin followed by surgery on his left wrist), there’s a sense of hope in Ryder’s camp that tonight’s fight is coming along at the right time. As the great Bert Sugar once wrote: the door to opportunity rarely needs a picked lock, merely the right combination.
The final undercard bout of the night is under way with Álvarez and Ryder expected to make their ringwalks in roughly one hour. Plenty to come between now and then.
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Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Donald McRae’s interview with the challenger in tonight’s main event.
