Notebook: Underdog Ryder plans to topple Canelo, win undisputed title
Lara-Garcia on tap; Serrano-Hardy II set; TR signs lightweight contender; BetUS show; Quick hits; Show and tell
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When the prospect of John Ryder challenging undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez was broached a few months ago, Ryder figured he would have to go to Alvarez’s home country of Mexico for the shot.
He wanted the fight and the good-natured Ryder even joked that that he would have been OK doing it in front of 100,000 pro-Canelo fans at famed Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, where the Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez drew an all-time boxing attendance record 132,247 for a fifth-round knockout of Greg Haugen to retain the WBC junior welterweight title in 1993.
Ryder got the fight but won’t have to Alvarez in front of that many partisans as the fight will take place before a capacity crowd of about 50,000 at Akron Stadium in Alvarez’s hometown of Guadalajara.
Alvarez will defend all four of his world title belts against Ryder, the WBO interim titlist and mandatory challenger, on Saturday (DAZN PPV and PPV.com, 7 p.m. ET) in the biggest fight in Mexico in many years.
Ryder could not be more excited even if the task is daunting, especially in Alvarez’s backyard.
“I know it’s going to be hostile. I am prepared for it,” Ryder said. “I think to go and fight a champion, you should go to their backyard to take their titles and that’s what I am doing. Most fighters have gone to (Las) Vegas or Texas to fight him, but I’m in Guadalajara in the lion’s den.
“I think that the pressure is on him. It’s been a long time since he boxed here and who expects anything of me? No one. People think I am here for the paycheck. I am not. I am here to show that dreams can come true. I’ve worked hard to get here, and I deserve to be here.”
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Ryder for the past decade and has worked with Alvarez in recent years, said he was quite pleased to deliver Ryder such an enormous opportunity and his biggest payday.
“He’s paid his dues in the sport,” Hearn said. “He’s had his ups and his downs and now he’s on a big up.”
Alvarez, having his first fight in Mexico since 2011 in a long-awaited homecoming, also was happy to give Ryder the chance.
“He has everything to win, nothing to lose, right? He’s always there, fighting with the good fighters trying to get that opportunity, and now he got it,” Alvarez said.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs), 34, a southpaw from England, has won four fights in a row since a November 2019 decision loss challenging then-WBA super middleweight titlist Callum Smith, who Alvarez would rout to take his title in December 2020 in his first step toward becoming the 168-pound king.
Ryder believes he may be catching Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs), 32, at the right time. He is two fights removed from a decision loss, albeit at light heavyweight, challenging WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol last May and is coming off left wrist surgery that he underwent following a decision win over Gennadiy Golovkin in their September trilogy fight.
“I think it is a good time to fight him,” Ryder said. “He has a lot of miles on the clock. Last year he had the Bivol defeat. I found it strange that he went back to light heavyweight and then he went back to 168 and while I don’t think it was a bad performance, I think people were expecting him to stop him and put the final nail in the coffin of the trilogy (with GGG) and he didn’t, although he did win comfortably.
“Obviously, he’s had the surgery on his hand and maybe there’s question marks on wear and tear, but I want the best version of him because I will give the best version of me. I have to embrace the moment. It’s a dream opportunity and I don’t plan to waste it.”
Besides Smith, Ryder, who turned pro in 2010, has also lost to other Alvarez victims, decisions to Billy Joe Saunders in 2013 and Rocky Fielding in 2017.
But in his last two fights, Ryder notched two of his biggest wins, a disputed split decision over Daniel Jacobs, yet another Canelo victim, in February 2022 and a fourth-round stoppage of injured Zach Parker to win the vacant interim belt in November.
Now he is stepping up to face the king of the division and the biggest star in boxing on his turf. But Ryder has remained confident throughout the lead up to the fight.
“I have always believed that I was destined for bigger things,” Ryder said. “My career has always been a work in progress. I’ve got good people around me, familiar faces, and there’s nothing new here. I’m not in the main fight hotel so everything is a bit calmer. It’s nice and we’ll dial in when we need to.”
Lara to defend vs. Garcia
Erislandy Lara will defend the WBA middleweight title against former junior welterweight and welterweight titlist Danny Garcia on Aug. 5 in a Showtime main event after Lara was granted what the WBA calls a “special permit” to bypass for one fight his due mandatory defense against Michael Zerafa.
The WBA announced this week that it granted Lara the special permit after Lara promoter TGB Promotions sent a request. The WBA said it granted it only after consulting with Team Zerafa, which worked out a deal to step aside.
The plan is for Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs), 31, of Australia, to box on the Lara-Garcia event, which does not have a set location but could take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, sources involved in the fight told Fight Freaks Unite. As long as Zerafa doesn’t lose, the Lara-Garcia winner (or Lara in the event of a draw) would be obligated to face him next within 120 days.
Lara and Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs), 35, of Philadelphia, who has boxed just once at junior middleweight in his last fight, a majority decision over Jose Benavidez Jr. in July at Barclays Center, will meet at a catch weight — probably 155 or 156 pounds — sources told Fight Freaks Unite.
Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs), 40, a Cuban defector fighting out of Houston, is a former junior middleweight titlist who went on to win the WBA “regular” middleweight title. But Lara, a southpaw, became the organization’s only 160-pound titleholder when Gennadiy Golovkin vacated the “super” title earlier this year rather than pursue the mandatory bout against Lara. After GGG vacated, Lara was ordered to face Zerafa.
While Garcia will be coming off a 13-month layoff, Lara will end a 15-month layoff since a one-sided eighth-round knockout of Irish journeyman Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan last May.
Serrano-Hardy rematch set
Given that Amanda Serrano battered Heather Hardy en route to a lopsided 10-round decision to take her WBO women’s featherweight title when they met in 2019, there hardly seems to be a reason for a rematch but that is what will happen.
Serrano, now the undisputed featherweight champion, will defend against Hardy now that the fight, first reported earlier in the week by Fight Freaks Unite, was finalized and announced. They will meet in the co-feature of Serrano promoter Jake Paul’s eight-round 185-pound boxing match with UFC star Nate Diaz on Aug. 5 (DAZN PPV) at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
“I am the undisputed featherweight champion today because Heather Hardy agreed to fight me in 2019 for her WBO title,” Serrano said. “That was the first step in my current run at featherweight. It’s only right that I give her the opportunity to earn it back. I’m excited to once again share the card with Jake and put on an exciting war. This will be the first time I get to fight in Texas, and I promise the fans that they will not be disappointed.”
Serrano (44-2-1, 30 KOs), 34, a Puerto Rican fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, will be shooting for a third win in a row since a disputed split decision loss challenging undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor last April. They were supposed to meet in a rematch on May 20 but Serrano, citing an undisclosed injury, withdrew.
A win by Serrano likely would pave the way to the rematch being rescheduled for later in the year.
Hardy (24-2, 4 KOs), 41, of Brooklyn, has fought three times since the loss to Serrano, going 2-1 in fights at lightweight and junior lightweight.
“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity,” said Hardy, who will earn the first six-figure purse of his career. “In 2021, I came back to boxing with a renewed passion for the sport. My late trainer (Hector Roca) told me, the day before he died, that 2023 would be my year. Now, I have the opportunity to prove him right and become an undisputed champion. Thank you to Amanda and team for keeping their word on giving me the rematch, but come fight night, I only have winning on my mind and stealing the show from Jake Paul and Nate Diaz.”
Top Rank signs Ortiz
Top Rank announced it has signed lightweight contender Jamaine Ortiz to a co-promotional deal and will work with his longtime promoter Jimmy Burchfield of CES Boxing.
Ortiz will have the first bout of the agreement on June 10 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on the ESPN+ portion of the card headlined by lineal/WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor’s defense against Teofimo Lopez. Ortiz will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-rounder.
Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs), 27, of Worcester, Massachusetts, has had his last two fights on Top Rank cards, a 10-round decision over former junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring last May that sent him into retirement followed by an unexpectedly competitive decision loss to former three-division champion and former pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko, who was a huge favorite.
“It feels great to join a stable that has created so many Hall of Fame champions,” Ortiz said. “I’m looking forward to becoming their next one. It’s been a long journey fighting my way up to get the respect I deserve. With Top Rank working with CES, I’m now hoping for bigger and better fights.
“It feels good to be back in New York to get some redemption after the loss to Lomachenko. I gained many new fans that night, and a lot of people thought I won. People know I’m the real deal now. I’m motivated to improve and take over the lightweight division. I only took 10 days off after that fight and went straight to the gym. I’m coming to make a statement on June 10 that I’m not to be played with.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked the Canelo Alvarez-John Ryder undisputed super middleweight title fight as well as Julio Cesar Martinez’s WBC flyweight title defense against Ronal Batista in the co-feature and the return of light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi against Pawel Stepien in the Boxxer main event in London. We also took viewer questions and comments! Please check out the show here:
Boxing Social appearance
I joined my friends at Boxing Social to discuss various boxing topics, including the Canelo Alvarez-John Ryder fight; a little on the recent Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight and Garcia’s split from trainer Joe Goossen in the aftermath; Teofimo Lopez’s absurd racial comments about Top Rank; and the never-ending saga of whether Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford will ever make a deal. Check out the video here:
Quick hits
Weights from Guadalajara, Mexico for Saturday’s Canelo homecoming fight on DAZN PPV and PPV.com: Canelo Alvarez 168 pounds, John Ryder 167.1 (for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight title); Julio Cesar Martinez 112, Ronal Batista 112 (for Martinez’s WBC flyweight title); Gabriel Valenzuela 139, Steve Spark 140.
Weights from Birmingham, England for Saturday’s Boxxer card on Sky Sports in the U.K. (and FITE+ in the U.S.): Joshua Buatsi 174 pounds, Pawel Stepien 175; Lauren Price 146.3, Kirstie Bavington 146; Ben Whittaker 174.3, Jordan Grant 175; Macaulay McGowan 159, Tyler Denny 159.3; Sean McComb 139.3, Kaisee Benjamin 140; Shakan Pitters 179, Joel McIntyre 178.3; Cori Gibbs 137, Jimmy First 136.3.
Show and tell
The fight had brewed for years and when Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather finally met it became the biggest money fight in boxing history at the time, a massive mainstream event that broke all revenue records, including overall revenue (approximately $165 million), most pay-per-views (2.45 million) and biggest gate ($18,419,200). De La Hoya, the pay-per-view king and the biggest star of the era, lost a highly competitive split decision and the WBC junior middleweight title to reigning welterweight champion Mayweather, who won a world title in his fifth weight class and became the fighter who would replace De La Hoya as the PPV king and biggest star in the sport. The fight became the monster event it did in large measure because of the innovative first series of HBO “24/7” episodes that followed the build-up to the fight. The fight, which I covered at ringside, was titled “The World Awaits” and took place on May 5, 2007 — 16 years ago on Friday. Here is an extremely rare site duratran that hung in an MGM Grand light box during fight week in my collection.
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Photos: Canelo-Ryder: Melina Pizano/Matchroom Boxing; Garcia: Nabeel Ahmad/PBC; Serrano-Hardy: Matchroom Boxing; Buatsi-Stepien: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer
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Gvoz will fight on the undercard i say youtube that one if you want to see something interesting in the ring late Saturday Night. But PPV ? Only guys like Raffy would view that one live and only bc they get it free from Eddie...........
Garcia and Lara on April 5?