There’s no place like home! Tonight, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez returned to the place where it all started and performed in front of the community that believed in him early on.
In the eyes of many fans, Alvarez has cemented his place on the Mount Rushmore of Mexican boxing. He has defeated legends like “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Miguel and Gennadiy Golovkin. Alvarez has also reached unparalleled heights by becoming the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the men’s four-belt era. Not to mention, he’s dared to be great and jumped up in weight to capture a light heavyweight title. With all that he’s accomplished, Alvarez felt that this was the right time to return home and fight in front of his Mexican fan base.
“I feel very happy to be here, be able to offer this fight to my people, the people who saw me grow from the beginning,” Alvarez said days before fighting in front of 50,000 fans at Estadio Akron in Jalisco, Mexico.
“I am happy and proud to return as the best and to be able to offer them the experience that I’ve been living in other places, that they can experience this with me. It is an honor for me.”
Alvarez was slow and methodical en route to a unanimous decision victory. Taking his time to calculate data and form a successful path to victory, the Mexican champion broke down the challenger, John Ryder, round by round before dropping him in the fifth round. Bloodied, battered and enduring a potentially broken nose, Ryder rose from the canvas and decided to fight on. Weary of the champion’s stiff and powerful right hand, Ryder bit down on his mouthpiece and managed to keep going despite facing the toughest test of his career thus far. In fact, DAZN commentators Sergio Mora and Chris Mannix said that Ryder may have even won a few rounds toward the end of the fight. Ultimately, Ryder’s toughness was able to get him to the finish line, but it was not enough to get the win. All three judges scored the fight in favor of the hometown king, handing in scores of 120-107, 118-109 and 118-109.
A clean 1-2 knock down on Ryder in the 5th round. ?#CaneloRyder is LIVE on DAZN PPV in the US and Canada and available as part of your regular subscription in selected territories. pic.twitter.com/MMS16q9RTq
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 7, 2023
Moving forward, many fans may want Alvarez to fight former super middleweight champion David Benavidez. However, he has remained clear about who he’d like to fight next — Dmitry Bivol. Bivol beat Alvarez by unanimous decision in a light heavyweight title fight, but the Mexican fighter believes he has what it takes to beat Bivol in a rematch.
“I’m the best fighter out there,” Alvarez told Sports Illustrated.
“I lost to the best fighter at 175 pounds [Bivol]. I tried to [make] history. I tried to do things differently than other fighters. It’s not easy but I like challenges. I feel good. I feel in my prime. And you’re going to see.”
Canelo Alvarez may want to fight Bivol again in a light heavyweight title fight, but Bivol doesn’t seem to be too interested in the idea.
“Why should I even do the rematch at 175? What is the challenge or what is the motivation for me if I’ve already beaten him at that weight class? And I don’t think we should worry about who thinks what,” Bivol told ESPN.
Moments after beating Ryder in Jalisco, Mexico, it’s unclear who Alvarez will fight, but one thing is certain. Fans should expect to see him back in the ring by September. He fought on Mexican Independence Day in 2017, 2018 and 2022. With two worthy opponents on the horizon, it appears that he is aiming to fight again in September.
