WHEN you try to picture the boxers we associate with the keyword “almost men”, you always think of people who have failed to win world titles or have been eliminated at times. when the title is near. Winning or not is judged fairly on the scorecards of the judges.
For me, however, what comes to mind is someone like John Ryder; one person, at 34 years old, seems forever stuck in the mud, unable to gain momentum even when the car is in gear and everything seems likely to be heading in the right direction.
Tonight (November 26) in London, for example, Ryder is paired with fellow Brit Zach Parker, an undefeated super middleweight boxer with many ambitions of his own, and hopes that the winner moves on. future world title competition. Certainly, what no one wants is the outcome of this war to be controversial or to have any confusion at the end of the war.
Sadly, though, that’s exactly what we get, with Ryder’s fifth-round “victory” ultimately guaranteed thanks to Parker breaking his arm and refusing to continue. As a result, the war ended before it actually began and worst of all, the celebration Ryder would have to celebrate knowing that the war was over was something to say at least forced and cliché.
Ryder attacks Parker
However, what can he do?
On paper, Ryder, 32-5 (18), at least now boasts a win over Parker, though I’m sure it’s a match Parker will look to return to at some point. Furthermore, Ryder, to his displeasure, had become somewhat accustomed to the feeling of backlash, having had many previous fights marred by confusion or controversy or simply a sense of progress. one step and two steps back.
For instance, in 2019, many felt he did enough to beat Callum Smith, a boxer who was then undefeated in 26 fights, just because Ryder’s work was mostly ignored by the umpires, who gave Smith the winner by unanimous decision. Earlier this year, too, Ryder’s breakthrough win over American Danny Jacobs was slightly overshadowed by the fact that it was now Ryder’s turn to benefit from doubt from the referees, two of whom they gave him victory with the score 115-113. That outcome, or at least its close-knit nature, meant that Ryder stepped aside instead of moving forward, as was the event itself, hidden in Alexandra Palace and visible only on an app.
Then the goal in tonight’s game against Parker, 22-1 (16), is to make a statement and trigger some real forward movement. In general, the aim is to separate them and in doing so establish which of the two has a better chance of one day competing and perhaps winning the world title in the second division. Weighs 168 pounds.
However, alas, after only four rounds of action were completed, we had no wiser left. Worse than that, which is the way of things, we are now likely to face a rematch that would take more time away from a 34-year-old, ideally him. You need to make the most of your peak time. years and doesn’t – sounds ridiculous in the way of “victory” – walks the old land.
For Parker, a man six years younger than Ryder, it would be easy to criticize him for not continuing to fight while tending to a broken hand. That, however, a criticism that only fellow boxers can truly aim at him, isn’t something anyone wants to take lightly, and it doesn’t change the fact that a the super-middleweight matchup is likely to be intense between well-matched Englishmen as if, somehow, it didn’t even happen tonight.
