Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez praised John Ryder for his ‘toughness’ after he successfully defended his undisputed super middleweight title by unanimous decision on Saturday night.
It was a brave performance from the English fighter, who went the distance in front of 50,000 people in Guadalajara, Mexico, in what was a heroic effort against one of the world’s best boxers.
The fight was scored 120-107 on one map and 118-109 on the other two, with Alvarez taking the win to go 59-2-2 in his professional career.
The Mexican certainly had the advantage and fought in front of a noisy home crowd, but Ryder, who suffered a sixth loss in his 38 fight career, fought valiantly throughout the 12 rounds.
After the fight, the pair were seen shaking hands and exchanging words in the dressing room, and it was clear there was no bad blood between them, with Alvarez praising the Englishman for being ‘tough’.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez successfully defended his undisputed middleweight title on Saturday
He defeated British fighter John Ryder (right) via unanimous decision in Guadalajara, Mexico
Alvarez and Ryder shook hands and hugged after the fight
“Good fight,” you hear Ryder say as Canelo comes over to shake his hand.
Ryder, who had a swollen eye and a bandage on his nose, added, “Good shot!”
Canelo replied, “Yes, I know… In the second round. At the end of the second round, right?’
The last shot too. Right before the bell,” Ryder said.
‘Yes! I felt it. You’re tough, you’re tough. Very strong. Happy to share the ring with you,’ the Mexican said.
‘Thank you. It’s an honour,’ said the Englishman.
Both fighters used the first two rounds to judge each other, before a Canelo jab caused blood to pour from Ryder’s nose.
Canelo then knocked Ryder down with a clean one-two in the fifth round and things looked ominous for the 34-year-old from Islington.
In impressive fashion, he got back up and fought his way through the 12 rounds, taking several vicious punches throughout the fight, but held his ground until the final bell despite spitting blood from his mouth.
Ryder had previously lost five career fights to Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield, Rocky Fielding and most recently was Callum Smith in 2019 by unanimous decision.
Alvarez (left) hit Ryder (right) with some vicious blows into the fight that at one point caused blood to pour from his face
The Mexican also knocked the Briton down during the fifth round of the fight, but he bravely continued
The loss ended his four-fight win streak and his record now stands at 32-6.
Alvarez, meanwhile, has gone two-for-two in his last two bouts, after beating Gennadiy Golovkin in September and recovering from his loss to Dmitry Bivol earlier in the summer.
But it seems the undisputed super middleweight champion has his eyes on a rematch with the Russian Orthodox fighter, and is wasting no time calling out Bivol after his win against Ryder.
“Everyone knows we want Bivol,” Alvarez said in the ring on Saturday. “If the fight with Bivol doesn’t go ahead, we’ll see.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn has previously said he could instead face David Benavidez at super middleweight, who recently defended his WBC interim title against Caleb Plant.
But Alvarez seems to have his eyes on a rematch with Bivol and wants to fight again at 175 pounds.
