Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez v John Ryder: 'Briton's stock has risen despite loss in Mexico' (2024)

John Ryder is a man who refuses to lose, to walk away or to give up on his dream.

On Saturday night in Guadalajara, Ryder lost probably lost nine of the 12 rounds in superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez's home city of Guadalajara.

He was being dominated and had to get up from a knockdown, but the way in which he fought the last three rounds was like an old-fashioned slugfest.

Ryder went into the ring a good British fighter, a tough guy whom we hoped could go 12 rounds. Not only did he go the distance, but he got their heroically.

In those last nine minutes of his super-middleweight title challenge, Ryder stood toe-to-toe with Alvarez. Who predicted that?

Alvarez looked like he was going to stop Ryder at times, but Ryder came back with pure guts.

He epitomises the phrase: your stock has risen.

If you are a young fighter turning professional now and are looking at someone's career to model yours on, you would initially say Tyson Fury. But I would say why not look at John Ryder?

He's a kid who had enough skill and talent but wasn't changing the course of history. He was unmotivated in fights, lost some fights, looked like he was going to quit, was the underdog, and then turned it round.

Ryder got paid a lot of money - a career-high payday against Alvarez. There isn't any other fight out there for him which would offer the same type of money.

But there will be a lot of world-class super-middleweights who will fancy Ryder because they will try and do better than Alvarez did.

Briton Zach Parker, who lost to Ryder having suffered a hand injury in November, might fancy a rematch.

Or Ryder could decide to move to light-heavyweight. There are plenty of options domestically with Anthony Yarde, Callum Smith or Joshua Buatsi.

This was Alvarez's 63rd fight. He had 21 fights by the time he was 18, including 12-rounders. He has faced multiple world champions, won multiple world championships. He turned professional at 15 and is now 32.

It can all catch up on you. No fighter can go on forever at that level. I was amazed at how marked up Alvarez was at the end of round 12.

It's not like Alvarez is getting caught with shots, and he still has power. But he is just losing a little bit of the edge.

If Ryder had stayed down in the fifth round, this would be a completely different conversation. We would be applauding Alvarez for taking out a man with a great jaw.

I must point out Alvarez is a smarter fighter now than ever. What he may have lost a little bit in speed, he has made up in guile. He is still formidable.

He has insisted on fighting Dimitry Bivol again, a man he lost to at light-heavyweight last year. Alvarez wants to go back up to Bivol's weight so he doesn't get criticised for Bivol coming down.

That is a brutally hard fight. Bivol is a smart man. He might just have Canelo's number. He has the timing, the size and the poise.

A word on the spectacle in Guadalajara - I can't think of many boxing events I've been at which have been bigger, better and more exciting than this.

The 90,000 watching Anthony Joshua face Wladimir Klitschko or 80,000 who witnessed Carl Froch against George Groves - this was right up there. It compares with all of those great nights.

It is not easy to suddenly put on a fight like this when you have never done it before. I have no doubt the next fight in Guadalajara will be even better.

Competing in front of Mexican fans for the first time in more than 11 years, Alvarez was a bit emotional after the fight. It was also the first time his grandmother, who is in her 90s, had seen him fight.

There was a look of great relief on his face. Relief that he had got the win and relief that he had satisfied everybody in the stadium.

Steve Bunce was speaking to BBC Sport's Kal Sajad.

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