John Ryder: ‘Canelo in Mexico? If you think that’s big, wait for the rematch’
John Ryder’s boyhood dream was to be a firefighter and on Saturday night he may need to draw on that hazy past to fight the blazing inferno that could engulf him when he steps into the ring against Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez in Guadalajara. Canelo, the flame-haired Mexican boxing legend, remains the most popular fighter in the world and this defence of his undisputed world supermiddleweight title is his first bout in his home country since November 2011.
Mexico has been in a fever all week, especially in the teeming city of Guadalajara, 20 miles from where the boxer grew up in Juanacatlán. Ryder, the aspiring fire-fighter, grew up on Upper Street in Islington, which will seem a very long way away in the final hours before he faces the might and fury of Canelo in front of a fiery crowd of 48,000 at the Estadio Akron.
Ryder is one of the most amiable boxers in the hard-bitten fight business and so he replies honestly when I ask if he suffers from nerves. “I’m not uncontrollable but I do,” he says. “The nerves do set in and I’m better when I’m around people. It’s not good for me to be left alone because I’ll sit on it too much.
“Even before the Zach Parker fight [his last bout six months ago when he defeated his previously unbeaten British rival in London] I was trying to get an afternoon nap and it was difficult. I woke myself up with an unbelievable rush of energy and the heart rate pumping.” He laughs quietly. “It lets you know that you’re alive.”
Ryder has boxed professionally for 12-and-a-half years and had 37 bouts, so he has developed ways to stop his boxing dreams turning into nightmares. “It’s part of my routine at night to do a bit of visualisation and think about the fight and put myself in that arena, put myself in that ring and get comfortable being there,” he says.
“I’ve been lucky enough to go to the arena in Guadalajara. I’ve seen the venue, seen the changing rooms, seen the pitch. I’m taking myself there every night so there’s going to be no shock.”
His natural enthusiasm soon spills over and he says: “I’m actually buzzing. Biggest night of my career so far. I’ve had big fights in the past but nothing compares to this.” Ryder pauses and then, with a cheeky cackle, he adds: “But, if you think this is big, wait until the rematch.”
His apparent confidence is not shared by the bookmakers, who make Canelo a prohibitive favourite, or almost anyone else in boxing. Last May, the Mexican topped most pound-forpound lists as the world’s best fighter as he moved up a division to challenge Dmitry Bivol, the outstanding and unbeaten WBA world light-heavyweight champion. Canelo, who was 31 then, turned pro at the age of 15. Until he fought Bivol, Canelo had lost one of his 61 fights and that had been back in 2013 against the immaculate Floyd Mayweather.
But Canelo suffered his second defeat when he was outboxed and outfought by Bivol. Some of his majestic lustre was lost and even though he won his next fight against his old rival Gennadiy Golovkin last September Canelo had to take time away from the ring to undergo wrist surgery.
Ryder knows the great Mexican is determined to atone for the most disappointing year of his career. But is there a chance Canelo is on the wrong side of the boxing hill? “Potentially,” Ryder says, “but I don’t want to put all my eggs in that basket.