John Ryder joked in January that he would need a baseball bat to defeat undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez.
His fists might be enough to get the job done.
Ryder, who is set to face the Mexican star on pay-per-view Saturday in Alvarez’s home state of Jalisco, is about an 11-1 underdog for a reason. The 34-year-old Londoner can’t match his opponent’s level of talent or accomplishments.
At the same time, he’s a capable, tough all-around fighter who might be catching Alvarez at the right time.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) made a strong impression when he lost a disputed decision to former super middleweight titleholder Callum Smith in November 2019. Three fights later, in February of last year, he enjoyed a break through when he outpointed former 160-pound champ Daniel Jacobs.
He isn’t young but he believes he’s never been better.
“I’ve had my ups and downs, I’ve took the knocks, and I’ve come back stronger for it,” he told DAZN. “I think this fight is coming at the right time. I’m probably at the best mentally and physically I could ever be.
“So I’m really looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) has struggled by his standards over the past year.
He suffered his first loss in a decade a year ago, when gifted 175-pound titleholder Dmitry Bivol outboxed him to win what should’ve been a wide decision. The setback cost Alvarez his No. 1 pound-for-pound status on many lists.
He bounced back to outpoint 40-year-old rival Gennadiy Golovkin in their third fight four months later but he looked so-so in the process.
The right-hander then underwent surgery to repair a nagging injury in left wrist, which may or may not have played a significant role in his relatively subpar performances against Bivol and Golovkin.
If it did, if Alvarez is 100% now, that could be bad news for Ryder. If it didn’t, it might mean that Alvarez is simply no longer the superstar who has dominated the sport since Floyd Mayweather left the scene in 2017.
That could open the door to a major upset given Ryder’s solid all-around ability and experience, although fighting in hostile territory will be additional obstacle.
Of course, Ryder has said the right things about Alvarez. He expects his opponent to be at his best in an important fight for the Mexican, who has the added motivation of fighting in front of his home-country fans for the first time since 2011.
“He’s still well up there as one of the best pound-for-pound in the world currently,” Ryder said. “Not only that, he’s the best of our generation. He’s on the short list of top fighters. He’s still dangerous.
“I think the best of him might still be to come.”
The rest of us are left to wonder about that.
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