The last opponent of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has given his take on how he sees the Mexican superstar’s next fight playing out.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez 59-2-2 (39) will defend his four world championship belts against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell ‘Hit Man’ Charlo 35-1-1 (19) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 30.
Back in May, British southpaw John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder 32-6 (18) travelled to Mexico to take on Alvarez. Although he put up a game effort, Ryder was dropped in the fifth and eventually lost a wide unanimous decision.
As the last man to step through the ropes to challenge Alvarez, Ryder is better placed than most to break down the upcoming superfight.
“He’s an aging fighter,” Ryder said to Fight Hub TV of Alvarez. “He’s had a lot of busy years. 2021 took a lot out of him, unifying the division and then the loss to [Dmitry] Bivol and then the win over [Gennadiy] Golovkin. It was a good win, he beat him every round, but he looked a bit lacklustre.
“He came back, had surgery on his wrist and then came back against me. He’s still the real deal.
“He still has a lot left to give. I know there’s going to be a lot of eyes on him on September 30th for the Charlo fight, but it’s a fight that he’s going to come through and come through well. Where he goes from there, I don’t know.
“[Charlo has] got a lot on his side. He’s coming up in weight and he’s probably a naturally bigger man anyway with Canelo starting at welterweight.
“I’m sure the process will be a lot easier for Charlo. He doesn’t have to cut weight. He is probably going to have a lot more enjoyable camp than he has ever, working on tactics than losing weight for the fight.”
As for how the fight itself will look, Ryder has his own idea.
“I’m sure he’ll come in fresh and look to cause the upset,” Ryder said. “I think it’ll be a cagey affair. I think Charlo will come out early and try and press forward, but he’ll realise that he’s not going to get away with that, throwing caution to the wind a bit and throwing less.
“When you think you’re having success, you’re really not. He’s looking at what’s next and he’s watching how you throw that shot and how the other hand goes.”
Ryder praised Alvarez for the way he reads the play and sets up his shot, including the one he used to knock him down.
“Honestly, that uppercut he threw was timed to perfection,” he said. “I saw it coming, but there was no time to get out of the way of it. You just have to be careful because he’s always waiting.
“Even when you think you’re having success, you’re really not. He’s luring you in, giving you that false sense of security.
“I think Charlo has got a chance if he can take it to him up close and work way up close. I was having a lot of success there [up close against Canelo], but I couldn’t sustain it.
“I think he’ll beat him well, Canelo. I don’t know if he’ll stop him, but I’ll say he beats him wide on points.”
