When Canelo Alvarez fought John Ryder on Saturday night in front of more than 50,000 spectators in Mexico for the first time since 2011. He prevailed by unanimous decision to retain his title as the undisputed super middleweight champion.
The British challenger was knocked out and his nose was damaged by Alvarez. Who then cruised to victory with scores of 120-107 on one cards and 118-109 on the other two, improving his record to 59-2-2.
Canelo claimed at the fight’s end, “I hit him too much in the head and he didn’t go down. It gets problematic because they typically give me the fight of their life when they fight me, as I’ve always said.
Ryder said that his likely broken nose, which occurred in the second round. It was a big factor in ending his four-bout winning streak and dropping him to 32-6.
Past His Best- Ryder
At a press conference, Ryder stated, “He’s definitely past his best. He couldn’t get me out there, he wanted to stop me but couldn’t do it. “Without the issue with my nose, it might have been a little different; it took me a few rounds to get used to it.”
It was Canelo’s first match following surgery on his left wrist in March of last year. In his previous four fights, including his defeat to light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol a year prior. He claimed the injury had slowed him down.
Canelo is targeting a rematch with Ryder in September after a hard-fought victory over the American.
“That’s what we’re aiming for, but we’ll see,” Canelo continued.
The sold-out audience at Akron stadium in Guadalajara, barely 25 miles from Juanacatlan. The little village where Canelo grew up, roared deliriously throughout the bout in what was billed as the “King is Coming Home” match.
“It was different, I’ve fought in stadiums before. But tonight was very different, the vibe of the crowd was awesome, I´m very thankful,” added Alvarez.