John Ryder faces arguably the biggest challenge in boxing as he attempts to dethrone the great Canelo Alvarez in Mexico tonight.
‘The Gorilla’ is an enormous underdog as he heads to Guadalajara on Cinco de Mayo weekend, hoping to produce one of the biggest upsets ever seen by a British fighter inside a boxing ring and return to London with all of the world title belts at super-middleweight.
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Ryder set up this mammoth career night by beating Zach Parker back in November to collect the vacant WBO interim title at 168lbs, making him mandatory challenger for one of the four titles currently held by Canelo, who bounced back from his shock loss to Dmitry Bivol up at light-heavyweight by settling his long-running rivalry with Gennady Golovkin once and for all in Las Vegas last September.
And rather than vacate that strap to pursue other blockbuster bouts such as a rematch with Bivol, or maybe even a potential showdown with the likes of David Benavidez, the undisputed champion decided to accept the Ryder fight and take it back to his legions of adoring fans in his native Mexico, where he has not fought for some 12 years.
It is sure to be an emotional homecoming for world boxing’s biggest name, and he will be ultra-confident of adding Ryder to his long list of vanquished British opponents that already includes Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Rocky Fielding, Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Ryan Rhodes and Matthew Hatton.
FACE OFF 👀@Canelo vs @_John_Ryder_
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 5, 2023
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Canelo vs Ryder date, start time, venue and ring walks
Canelo vs Ryder takes place tonight Saturday, May 6 2023 at the 48,000-capacity Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, home of Liga MX side CD Guadalajara.
The main undercard is not due to start until 5pm, which is 12am BST for fight fans in the UK facing another long night.
Ring walks for the main event itself are not expected until around 4am BST, though as ever those timings are subject to change.
Canelo vs Ryder fight card/undercard in full
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs John Ryder
Julio Cesar Martinez vs Ronal Batista
Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Ricards Bolotniks
Gabriel Valenzuela vs Stevie Spark
Nathan Devon Rodriguez vs Alexander Mejia
Bek Nurmaganbet vs Argenis Espana
Lawrence King vs Elio German Rafael
Johansen Alvarez Suarez vs Johan Rodriguez Arreguin
Abilkhan Amankul vs Jesus Moroyoqui Palomares
Carlos Emiliano Rojo vs Fabian Trejo Rivera
Jesus Larios vs Alejandro Curiel
How to watch Canelo vs Ryder
TV channel: Canelo vs Ryder is being shown live on Saturday night via DAZN, which is available on smart TVs and via Sky channel 429. Outside of the USA and Canada, it is not on pay-per-view but part of the DAZN subscription.
Live stream: The DAZN app and website will offer a live stream service online across mobile devices, laptops, games consoles and more. A subscription to DAZN starts from £9.99 per month in the UK.
LIVE coverage: You can also follow the entire event overnight with Standard Sport’s dedicated live blog.
Canelo vs Ryder prediction
Islington southpaw Ryder is a solid, durable and hugely determined fighter with some great wins including the headline defeat of Daniel Jacobs last February, but it is extremely difficult to map out a path to a potential colossal upset here.
He needs to have the performance of his life as well as catching Canelo on a real off-night, which seems incredibly unlikely to happen with the Mexican back on home soil for the first time since 2011 and no doubt eager to put on a show for his passionate fans.
Ryder may start well, but we know how Canelo builds that suffocating pressure as fights progress, overwhelming his overmatched opponents with his relentless approach and sapping power.
Ryder has only ever been stopped once, by Nick Blackwell down at middleweight back in 2015, with his other four pro losses to date to Billy Joe Saunders, Jack Arnfield, Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith all coming on points.
We think ‘The Gorilla’ will give a decent account of himself through the early rounds and look competitive, before becoming the latest victim to Canelo’s non-stop pressure thereafter, being stopped in the second half of the bout.
Canelo to win via knockout, let’s plump for round nine.
Canelo vs Ryder weigh-in results
The weigh-ins took place on Friday, with Ryder tipping the scales at 167.9lbs and Canelo coming in bang on the super-middlweight limit at 170lbs.
Canelo vs Ryder betting odds
Canelo to win: 1/20
Ryder to win: 9/1
Draw: 25/1
Canelo to win by KO/TKO: 2/7
Ryder to win by KO/TKO: 16/1
Canelo to win by points or decision: 7/2
Ryder to win by points or decision: 16/1
