NEWS: CANELO ALVAREZ TO FACE JOHN RYDER, MAY 6, IN GUADALAJARA HOMECOMING

By: Jay Calderon‍

It was just announced that Super Middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez will defend his gold against mandatory challenger John Ryder on May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Interestingly enough, the bout will be Alvarez' first south of the border since a 2011 knockout win over Kermit Cintron. Alvarez has fought exclusively in America post-Cintron.

Alvarez, 58-2-2 with 39KOs, last competed in September, when he earned a decision win over long-time rival Gennadiy Golovkin. Golovkin was Canelo's first fight since his loss to Dmitry Bivol back in May, when the Mexican moved up to Light-Heavyweight to challenge for the Russian's title.

Ryder last competed in November, when he upset Zach Parker to earn the mandatory shot at Alvarez. Ryder, 35-5 with 18KOs, has been in the best form of his career of late, having last lost in 2019. Even that loss, a decision to Callum Smith, has a close encounter that could have gone either way.

Alvarez will be returning from hand surgery that he underwent after the Golovkin encounter. Still, if things go as expected, Ryder should present a fun but ultimately limited challenge to Alvarez in his homecoming encounter.

Currently, the odds have Alvarez as a -1440 favorite, with Ryder coming in as the underdog at +750.

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