By: Sean Crose
“It’s a great opportunity not given,” John Ryder said at Thursday’s press conference to kick off the promotion for his May battle with Canelo Alvarez and only. “I have worked hard for many years. Like you said, I’ve really been through ups and downs, ups and downs, barrel bottoms. I want to take the time to thank you, Saul and Eddie, for making this fight happen. Charlie, for working tirelessly back and forth with you to close the deal. And third, just like what my coach Tony Sims said, he can’t be here because of the schedule.
Ryder may be Canelo’s must-have, but the Briton is not one of the sport’s bigger names – although he will certainly become one should he win a Hall of Famer title in the future. crossed in Canelo’s hometown of Mexico this spring. “I’m not here for the holidays,” he said, “and I wouldn’t bring the team with me, there’s the team around me that I have if I don’t believe I can win. I will go, without leaving any hindrance, put everything in this camp and truly believe that I can win on May 6.”
While there has been some unwarranted criticism regarding Ryder as Canelo’s newest rival, promoter Eddie Hearn made a point at the press conference describing Ryder as “who we worked together for over a decade. He paid his fees in this sport. He’s had his ups and downs and now he’s growing up. Victory over Danny Jacobs and Zach Parker made him the must-have challenger, interim world champion, and the one who would come to Guadalajara with every intention of winning. With a kind heart, with so much strength and the chance to make history for Great Britain and become the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.”
“But in front of him,” Hearn added, “the biggest star in the sport of boxing, Saul Canelo Alvarez.”
