By: Sean Crose
This May, Canelo Alvarez returns home. The red haired star, who arguably remains the most popular boxer on the planet, will be fighting again in his Mexican homeland this spring. “I am ready to return to my home to defend my titles in the place where I was born and start my story with the people who have always supported me,” Canelo said via video message with politician Enrique Alfaro. “In May of this year I will fight for Jalisco and celebrate with you the greatness of our land.” This development frankly comes as no surprise, as there had been talk that Canelo would be fighting in his homeland next – though there had also been talk that he might be fighting in Great Britain.
As he indicates in the message, not only will Canelo be fighting in his native Mexico, he will be fighting in his home state of Jalisco. He’s certainly a native son who has done well for himself. Canelo has essentially dominated the post Mayweather era in boxing, after all. He’s also been an outspoken and patriotic Mexican. Throw in the the fact that the man hasn’t fought south of the American border since defeating Kermit Citron way back in 2011, and it’s little wonder why he wants to fight in front of his home crowd this time around.
Canelo’s May opponent appears to be Englishman John Ryder. Although not as big a name as some of Canelo’s recent opponents such as Gennady Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol and Caleb Plant, Ryder has nonetheless taken possession of the interim WBO super middleweight title. He’s also defeated Daniel Jacobs, which, although Jacobs was arguably past his prime at the time, remains no small thing. With that in mind, the Londoner has been bested by two of Canelo’s previous victims: Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith respectively. Canelo-Ryder may not be a superbout, but, frankly, Canelo deserves a hard earned break.
While some top fighters battle once, maybe twice a year, none have been fed the steady diet of menacing competition Canelo has. To look at Canelo’s resume is to be stunned by the opponents the man has faced over the past decade. Floyd Mayweather. Erislandy Lara. Miguel Cotto. Amir Khan, Sergey Kovalev, Billy Joe Saunders…the list goes on and on. So, yes, Canelo deserves a break, especially after losing to Bivol last year while trying to attain his second world title in the light heavyweight division. Here’s hoping Mexican fans enjoy the show this spring, no matter who it is Canelo ends up facing.