LOS ANGELES — Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is still the undisputed super middleweight champion, solidifying his reign with a unanimous decision victory against John Ryder in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday night.
Although Alvarez failed to deliver the knockout he promised, the Mexican star put on a show in his much-anticipated return to his homeland.
In the fifth round, Alvarez delivered a powerful right hand that sent Ryder to the canvas, generating a burst of excitement among the spectators.
Ryder made it back to his feet and continued to battle valiantly but the relentless Alvarez managed to hurt Ryder several more times during the fight as he consistently targeted Ryder’s body with his left and connected with potent right-hand shots to the head.
The official scorecards reflected Alvarez’s dominance, with scores of 120-107, 118-109, and 118-109 in his favor. Although Alvarez fell short of achieving a knockout in his return to his hometown, he expressed contentment with the fight’s outcome.
“It’s a historic moment for me,” Alvarez remarked after the bout. “I feel blessed to be here with my devoted supporters who have been with me from the beginning. I take pride in this moment… I’m satisfied with the fight. I’m glad the fans witnessed an exciting bout. He’s a tough fighter, and I expected nothing less.”
Alvarez appears focused on securing a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who upset Alvarez in May 2022 during Alvarez’s bid to capture light heavyweight gold for the second time in his career. Balancing his desire for a Bivol rematch with mandatory challengers for his super middleweight titles has been a challenge for Alvarez since the loss.
Having triumphed over longtime rival Gennady Golovkin in a trilogy fight and now decisively defeating Ryder, Alvarez’s options for his next opponent are wide open.
“Everyone knows we want the rematch with Bivol,” Alvarez affirmed. “If the Bivol fight doesn’t come to fruition, we’ll explore other possibilities. I’m willing to face anyone.”
Bivol has consistently proposed that the rematch should take place at super middleweight, with Alvarez defending his four world titles. Alvarez, however, has rejected this notion, stating, “Same rules, same conditions. That’s how I want it.”
For Ryder, it’s back to the drawing board.
Having now gone through a pair of unsuccessful attempts at world championship glory, his recent encounter with Alvarez showed a definitive outcome, unlike his prior world title challenge, which ended in a highly disputed decision favoring Callum Smith.
