anelo Alvarez was taken the full 12 rounds by John Ryder but enjoyed a successful return to Mexico as he defended his undisputed super-middleweight crown with a wide points victory.
Fighting on home soil for the first time in over a decade, Canelo entered the ring looking to respond to a relatively poor 2022 by his lofty standards, a year that saw him lose to Dmitry Bivol and win a largely uneventful bout with Gennady Golovkin on the cards before undergoing surgery on his left hand.
The pressure was on therefore in front of almost 50,000 fans in Guadalajara to deliver a statement display, and the home hero was well on course to do just that when he dropped Ryder in the fifth round with a sharp right hand and blood continue to pour from the British man’s nose.
Ryder was incredibly brave though and continued to fire back as Canelo relentlessly marched forward and pushed for the stoppage win, and the sound of the final bell served as a moral victory against arguable the biggest name in the sport.
The result was never in doubt, one judge scoring it 120-107 in the Mexican’s favour and the other two cards having him 118-109 ahead, leaving Ryder as the eighth entry to the list of British fighters defeated by Canelo.
“It felt different, it’s a lot of responsibility with my people who support me,” Canelo said of fighting in front of his home fans.
When asked if he was entirely confident with his hand heading into the fight, he responded: “Not at the beginning. I needed a couple of rounds to start punching and know I am good with that hand. Now I know.”
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