GRADES: CANELO ALVAREZ, JOHN RYDER, JULIO CESAR MARTINEZ, JOSHUA BUATSI & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

A couple of decent cards over the weekend, and we had some decent results. Nothing completely out of the ordinary, no major upsets. Still, interesting performances nonetheless.

First, we saw Joshua Buatsi easily handle Pawel Stepien in London over the course of the decision in his Sky Sports/BOXXER debut.

Then, in Guadalajara, and live on pay-per-view, Canelo Alvarez successfully defended his Super Middleweight crown against the very tough John Ryder. Julio Cesar Martinez also defended his Flyweight Title on the under card.

So, without much more ado, let's hand out these Grades.

CANELO ALVAREZ: B-
RESULT: DEF. JOHN RYDER, 12UD (SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT)

Well, it happens to all really good-to-great fighters. Eventually, they reach a point in their career where they can beat pretty much everyone in or around their weight class -- but maybe not the very best of opponents. And even the wins they garner aren't what they used to be.

Make no mistake about it, Alvarez fairly convincingly defeated John Ryder in front of a massive crowd in the former's native Guadalajara. Out of the twelve completed rounds, Alvarez likely secured eight or more, and managed a knockdown as well. However, with all due respect to Ryder, the issue isn't the amount of rounds won by Alvarez, it's the amount of rounds Canelo was forced to go.

The Canelo of old gets Ryder out of there. Especially with his adoring fans thirsting to see their favorite fighter really shine. However, a 32-year-old Alvarez with well over 60 bouts to his credit has to settle for a decision.

He still beats most fighters he faces from 160 pounds to even most at 175 pounds. But his very peak form might be coming to an end.

JOHN RYDER: C+
RESULT: LOSS TO CANELO ALVAREZ, 12UD (SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT)

You can't really give John Ryder much better a grade than I'm giving him here. For heart? Effort? Desire? Off the scale. However, for the overall performance? He fell well short of the mark.

There were certainly some good points for Ryder. A perennial underdog, Ryder managed to go the full distance with a fighter many perceived to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world just a few short years ago. And that's not nothing.

Still, Ryder's inability to land something hurtful or sustain a productive and consistent attack ultimately meant he placed second far too often on the night.

A solid outing for a heavy underdog nonetheless, even if the result reads defeat.

JULIO CESAR MARTINEZ: B-
RESULT: DEF. RONAL BATISTA, 11TKO (FLYWEIGHT)

Since about 2021 in a no contest against McWilliams Arroyo, Julio Cesar Martinez has really failed to impress inside the ring. In that time, Martinez has moved up and lost to Roman Gonzalez, and struggled more than you'd expect against a very inexperienced Samuel Carmona, only managing a twelve round majority decision back in November.

If he and his team were hoping his contest with Ronal Batista would help correct the ship, they can't be completely satisfied.

While Martinez won via eleventh round stoppage, it was only after he spent half the contest struggling mightily. While coming from behind is nothing automatically negative, it doesn't help when you're facing someone everyone expected you to easily defeat -- including odds makers.

While the decline of Canelo Alvarez may steal the headlines, it should be noted Martinez might not be too far behind in that department.

OLEKSANDR GVOZDYK: C
RESULT: DEF. RICARDS BOLOTNIKS, 6TKO (LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT)

If you're looking at solely the result, Oleksandr Gvozdyk did pretty well in just his second fight back from retirement. However, if you're looking at the actual work, it wasn't the most convincing performance.

Gvozdyk retired at the age of 32 after a punishing defeat at the hands of current world titlist Artur Beterbiev. Since then, Gvozdyk has now fought twice and looked....OK. He doesn't look like someone, at the age of 36, who is revamped and ready to take over the division.

While I can't say Gvozdyk has no chance of truly reigniting his career and propelling himself back into the mix, based on the Ricards Bolotniks performance, I wouldn't bet on it.

There were flashes of previous brilliance, but not enough in the performance to truly convince most.

JOSHUA BUATSI: C+
RESULT: DEF. PAWEL STEPIEN, 12UD (LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT)

At this point in time, I just have to come to terms with my gut instinct: I'm not the biggest buyer of Joshua Buatsi stock.

Initiallty, I saw things I liked in Buatsi that I felt as though he could build upon. He has solid enough fundamentals, seems eager to learn, and appears entirely dedicated to the sport.

You don't hear about him acting up in between camps. He's not reckless. He's very reserved in all measures, it seems. The problem is that carries over into his performances.

There just isn't a lot of life in the way he fights. No over-the-top skills, no thrills or risks. Just a measured approach every time. Which was the case against Pawel Stepien.

Buatsi didn't look bad, he just didn't look great -- or really good, for that matter. It feels like a lot of the same when you see the man fight.

Perhaps his game will elevate as the competition rises. Until then, it's an average grade for an average performance.

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