- Canelo Alvarez has opened as a massive -1000 betting favorite against John Ryder (+600).
- Alvarez and Ryder are finalizing a May 6 bout which is expected to take place in Mexico.
- Should Alvarez win, he is expected to seek a rematch with Dmitry Bivol later this year.
Canelo’s next bout could be nothing but a tune-up fight. If the oddsmakers are correct, Alvarez will have his easiest fight in two years. That’s because the top boxing sportsbooks like BetOnline have opened Canelo as a massive -1000 favorite to beat John Ryder, who hit the opening betting boards at +600 odds.
That represents Alvarez’s shortest opening odds since February 2021, when he was listed at -4000 odds against Avni Yildirim (+1400). Including the Yildirim bout, Alvares has fought five times, going 4-1 during that stretch.
Canelo Finalizing Bout With Ryder
Canelo Alvarez and John Ryder are in the process of finalizing a deal for an undisputed super middleweight championship fight on May 6, sources told @MikeCoppinger.
The site has yet to be finalized, but the bout is expected to land in Jalisco, Mexico. pic.twitter.com/wkv2zH1TNQ
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) February 11, 2023
ESPN was first to break the news, with a report from ESPN’s Mike Coppinger last weekend. According to Coppinger, Alvarez’s team is in the process of finalizing a fight for the Mexican’s undisputed super middleweight title. Canelo is a promotional free agent but has fought under Matchroom in his last two bouts. Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn is also Ryder’s promoter.
The bout would be the first for Canelo after undergoing left wrist surgery last October. Before going under the knife, Canelo closed his trilogy versus Gennady Golovkin with a dominant unanimous decision win last September 17, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alvarez and Golovkin fought in back-to-back bouts in 2017 and 2018 with the Mexican closing as a betting underdog of +170 and +180 in both fights, respectively. The first one ended in a controversial split draw while Alvarez took a very narrow majority decision in the rematch. Four years after their second fight, Canelo closed the book on Golovkin with an exclamation point.
The victory over Triple G last September was also the perfect bounce-back fight for Alvarez who suffered a stunning upset loss to Dmitry Bivol when he attempted to win the WBA (super) light heavyweight title in May of last year. Alvarez was a -400 favorite at BetOnline but ended up losing a unanimous decision, which was his first defeat since 2013.
First Bout in Mexico Since 2011
Details of the bout have yet to be finalized but, according to Coppinger’s sources, the fight is expected to land in Jalisco, Mexico which would make it a long-awaited homecoming for Alvarez.
Canelo hails from Jalisco’s capital city, Guadalajara. Four venues in Jalisco are being eyed for the event, including Jalisco Stadium. However, according to the ESPN report, the Estadio Akron is the favorite to land the Canelo bout. The soccer venue in Zapopan in Jalisco has a capacity of more than 46,000.
Should the bout indeed land in Mexico, it will mark Alvarez’s first bout in his native land since 2011 when he defeated Kermit Cintron to retain his WBC light middleweight title at the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City. Canelo’s last fight in Guadalajara was also in 2011 against Danny Rhodes, two bouts before knocking out Cintron.
Alvarez fought his first 22 professional boxing bouts exclusively in Mexico before heading to the United States to pursue world titles. He is unbeaten with 24 knockouts when fighting in front of his fellow countrymen.
Ryder Wins Interim WBO Super Middleweight Title
Who would have called this?! 🤯
Zack Parker has had to pull out after the 4th round due to an injury to his hand.@_John_Ryder_ has been awarded the victory.#ParkerRyder pic.twitter.com/7IZJ89jaA0
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) November 26, 2022
Ryder earned the right to fight Canelo by winning the interim WBO super middleweight title against Zach Parker last November. The 34-year-old Southpaw entered the bout as the +200 betting underdog against the previously-unbeaten Parker who closed at +178 odds at online sportsbook Bet365.
In that bout, the two top-rated British super middleweights went back and forth until the 4th round when Parker suffered a broken hand that rendered him unable to continue. Ryder won via TKO but, at the time of the stoppage, Parker led on two judges’ scorecards 39-37 and the two were even at 38-38 in the third scorecard.
The win improved Ryder’s record to 35-2 with 18 wins by knockout. It capped off a terrific 2022 campaign where Ryder also pulled off a betting upset over Daniel Jacobs, defeating the former IBF middleweight champion via split decision. Jacobs was the -150 betting favorite to win that fight.
Since losing to Callum Smith as a massive +1000 betting underdog when he challenged for Smith’s WBA (super) and Ring super middleweight titles in November 2019, Ryder has won his last four bouts. He has also moved up to no.3 in the latest The Ring rankings, behind champion Canelo, David Benavidez, and Caleb Plant.
Alvarez Eyeing Bivol Rematch
Canelo’s usual boxing calendar consists of a fight close to Cinco de Mayo and a second bout during the Mexican Independence Day week in September. The Golovkin fight marked Alvarez’s return to his September programming. He did not have a September fight in 2020 and 2021.
This year, Alvarez has expressly stated that he wants a rematch with Bivol in September, in a bout that will be fought at the 168-pound limit and for Canelo’s belts. Bivol has expressed his willingness to fight Alvarez at the Mexican’s weight class to make the rematch happen.
Bivol currently has no bout set. The 32-year-old Russian dealt Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez his first career loss when they fought last November in Dubai. He is being linked to a showdown with WBC, WBO, and IBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterviev. However, with a big-money fight against Canelo on the horizon, he might also take a tune-up bout instead.
Bivol was a +400 underdog to Canelo when they fought but he proved the oddsmakers wrong. Although the scores for the bout were close at 115-113 across the three scorecards, it was clear that Bivol outboxed Alvarez that night.
