Canelo Alvarez is scheduled to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship on May 6 against interim WBO champion John Ryder in his native Guadalajara, Mexico. Alvarez will have his first match after stopping Ryan Rhodes. Five months later, he defeated Kermit Cintrón on November 26, 2011 in Mexico City.
The fight is set to be the highlight of the weekend’s Cinco de Mayo festivities.
last month, ESPN reported The fight will take place on May 6 in Jalisco, Mexico. At the time, WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel told Yahoo Sports that Alvarez would indeed fight Ryder, but added that he was unsure of the date or venue.
Now, the stage is set and it looks like Alvarez has taken full advantage. 58-2-2 with 39 knockouts, he will fight for the first time since his unanimous decision win in the final match of their storied trilogy with Gennady Golovkin last September in Las Vegas. Shortly after, Alvarez had surgery on his left wrist in October.
The fight also comes a year after Alvarez was upset by Dmitry Bivol in a light heavyweight title bout in May. Ryder, the 34-year-old British boxer and mandatory WBO challenger will look to achieve a similar feat as he is the underdog in this matchup. 32-5 with 18 KO wins, 1 KO loss, Ryder took to Twitter after the announcement.
“I’ve worked for it, I’ve earned it and come May 6, I will not waste this opportunity to become the undisputed,” he said. wrote.
He won the interim WBO belt by defeating Zach Parker at the O2 Arena in London in November. Parker’s right hand was broken which prevented him from finishing the fight and giving Ryder the victory. Ryder previously held the WBA interim super-middleweight title in 2019.
If Alvarez, 32, beats Ryder, he will face Bivol for a rematch in September, only this time the two will square off at super middleweight.