Ryder to face his ‘Everest’
JOHN RYDER will have climbed boxing’s equivalent of Mount Everest if he beats Saul Alvarez in Mexico on Saturday.
And, with tongue only slightly in cheek, the north Londoner reckons climbing the real thing might even feature in his celebrations if he does achieve that feat.
“If I win, I might go and climb Everest,” said the 34-year-old, who takes on boxing’s biggest name in his home state of Jalisco.
“I’ve got a good affiliation to the Gurkhas. I’m part of the Non-resident Nepali Association, so it might be worthwhile doing, or just a trip to Base Camp to test the waters.
“Every fight could be your last at this stage,” he added, assessing his options following a potential win.
“So you could go out on a massive high with a win, or you could have a rematch and potentially bring him back to the Emirates. We’ll look at whatever is next.
“There’s a massive incentive to fight on and try to bring this fight back to the Emirates, but who knows?”
Mad-keen Arsenal fan Ryder would love the chance to face ‘Canelo’ on the Gunners’ home turf although he knows that, financially,
Sin City makes more sense.
He said: “A rematch at the Emirates would be nice, but, look, when I win, he’ll still have the star power and the draw, and it would probably make more sense to do it in Las Vegas.”
After Wednesday’s defeat by Manchester City, most people would give Arsenal about as much hope of being crowned champions of England as they would give Ryder of beating the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO world super-middleweight champion.
And asked whether he would sacrifice his football team winning the Premier League this season in exchange for his own victory, he replied: “Oh, come on,
I’ve seen Arsenal win the title before.
“And, for Arsenal, there is always next year.”