Super-middleweight contender John Ryder says the pressure is on Canelo Alvarez when they fight in Guadalajara, Mexico on May 6.
Ryder, who is back in England training with coach Tony Sims after a two-city press tour with Canelo to announce their fight, believes that due to Canelo’s in the ring performances and injuries, the onus will be on the Mexican to announce that he is back – and to thrill his hometown fans.
“The pressure is on him,” Ryder said. “He’s coming back from not a great 2022 with the Biviol defeat, the performance against Golovkin wasn’t vintage, then he’s had the surgery on the wrist, it’s his first time back home in 12 years, so I feel like the pressure is massively on him to come out and perform.”
John Ryder's Dream Come True: Mandatory Fight vs. Canelo in Mexico
Canelo in Mexico has always been the dream for Ryder, and after wins over Danny Jacobs and Zach Parker, Ryder earned his mandatory position. There is a school of thought that after Ryder’s best year, he is coming up against Canelo who might have started the downside of his career.
The belt is for all of the marbles at 168, a rich division for the UK that has spawned champions from Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn to George Groves and James DeGale and Carl Froch and Joe Calzaghe.
But how will southpaw Ryder prepare to face the man many see as the premier fighter in the sport. It’s something he admits isn’t easy, finding sparring partners who are the complete package.
“We’ve got a few sparring partners coming in from abroad, but it’s hard especially with fighters who either come forward or who are defensive fighters, but we will see how they play it and we will probably have to mix it with offensive and defensive work with different sparring partners, to get a different gauge,” Ryder explained. “Maybe with one in one out with different sparring partners.”
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