By: Sean Crose
This May, Canelo Alvarez returned home. The red-haired star, who is arguably the most famous boxer on the planet, will rematch in his native Mexico this spring. “I’m ready to return home to defend my title in the place where I was born and to start my story with the people who have always supported me,” Canelo said via video message with politician Enrique Alfaro. “In May of this year, I will fight for Jalisco and celebrate with you the greatness of our country.” This development doesn’t really come as a surprise, as there have been rumors that Canelo will fight in his hometown next – although there are also rumors that he could fight in the UK.
As he pointed out in the message, Canelo is not only fighting in his native Mexico, but he will be fighting in his home state of Jalisco. He is definitely a native son who has done a great job for himself. After all, Canelo has essentially dominated the post-Mayweather era in boxing. He is also an outspoken and patriotic Mexican. The fact that the man hasn’t fought south of the US border since defeating Kermit Citron in 2011, and it’s no surprise why he wants to fight in front of his hometown audience this time around. .
Canelo’s May opponent appears to be British John Ryder. While not a big name like some of Canelo’s recent rivals such as Gennady Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol and Caleb Plant, Ryder nonetheless holds the WBO super-middleweight interim belt. He also defeated Daniel Jacobs, which although Jacobs was thought to be past his prime at the time, is still no small matter. With that in mind, the Londoners were defeated by two of Canelo’s previous victims: Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith. Canelo-Ryder may not be a superstar, but frankly, Canelo deserves a hard break.
While some top boxers fight once, maybe twice a year, none are fed a steady diet like Canelo. Looking at Canelo’s background is shocking at the opponents this man has faced over the past decade. Floyd Mayweather. Erislandy Lara. Miguel Cotto. Amir Khan, Sergey Kovalev, Billy Joe Saunders… the list goes on and on. So yes, Canelo deserves a break, especially after losing to Bivol last year while trying to win a second world title in the light heavyweight division. Here’s to hoping Mexican fans enjoy the show this spring, no matter who Canelo ends up facing.
