Brutal Canelo hits back after year to forget
Brit Ryder is pummelled as Mexican looks back to his best
IT took Charles the Third five hours to be anointed, but it took King Canelo just 47 minutes to reclaim the throne of boxing. Yet it required considerably more effort by Saul Alvarez to recover his crown. Because his procession this royal Saturday was prolonged by a commoner infinitely more stubborn and worthy than the antimonarchist rabble who failed to halt the Coronation.
Plain John Ryder, unheralded pugilist of Islington parish, put up mighty resistance against the powerful force of Canelo the Great, the kind of which the 4,0000 troops who marched down the Mall would have been proud of if called into combat.
All the more so since the fighter who calls himself the Gorilla shipped heavy fire for the majority of the 12 three minute rounds of his doomed challenge for the undisputed world super-middleweight championship.
Ryder failed in his mission to pull off possibly the greatest away victory in the annals of British boxing. Yet so gallant was he in continuing to chase that dream that at the end Alvarez led the salute to his bravery, which was joined by some 60,000 of the most passionate and exuberant fanatics of the hardest game on earth.
Mexico and the United Kingdom will not soon forget the valour with which Ryder refused to allow Canelo the knockout that he hoped would hallmark his first fight in his own country for almost 12 years.
In doing so, he hoped to proclaim redemption for a distressing year low-lighted by that embarrassing loss — only the second of his career — to Russian light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol.
Ryder was sent slumped close to unconsciousness between the ropes and canvas by a thunderous fifth round right cross.
Canelo was already thinking about his rematch with Bivol in September, but the Gorilla got up. Ryder was then dropped again — the referee wrongly ruling it a slip — but also got up.
Whether he could have risen again had he hit the deck under the next, most brutal barrage of all, instead of reeling around the ring from blow after crunching blow, has to be doubtful. But he did not go down.
Unlike King Kong he was still standing at the finish, albeit rather less handsome, with his nose broken and his face battered into red meat candidacy for a butcher’s shop
The scorecards bore witness to his valour. One judge gave it to Alvarez by 120-107, the other two saw it as 118-109. My sympathy vote was a little kinder to Ryder at 118-111.
There was never any doubt about the outcome, but Canelo as good as thanked Ryder for making such a good fight of it for his home city audience to enjoy.
Actually, Ryder did him a favour by making him work for the win. The arch criticism of Canelo against Bivol was that, at 32, his stamina was blown to such an extent that he would gas out in the second half of any fight. Well, he lasted the distance just fine and his troublesome broken hand was pronounced totally healed.
Ryder praised the champion’s greatness but suggested ‘he is not as good as he used to be’.
Perhaps, while he was occupied riding the storm, he did not appreciate that at this level of power-punching Canelo could have knocked out anyone, Bivol included, especially if their second fight is at super-middleweight.
Ryder’s defiance may well have earned him a few more good paydays down the road to go with his biggest purse so far.
Canelo pondered, once again, the possibility of a big stadium fight in London, probably at Wembley.
The problem with that is that he has now knocked off an astonishing eight British fighters. It is hard to see who is left on these shores for him to fight, especially since he added: ‘ Ryder has been the toughest of them all.’
A compliment is not a win but after a boiling night like this — it was 83 degrees in Guadalajara’s new stadium at the first bell — it sure helps ease the hurt.