In his first fight in his native Mexico since 2011, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez puts his undisputed super middleweight title on the line Saturday against unheralded John Ryder. Over 50,000 fans are expected to fill Estadio Akron near Alvarez's hometown of Guadalajara to watch the biggest name in boxing take on Ryder.
“It's going to be something special, I started boxing here in a little arena, and now I'm coming back to fight in a big stadium,” Alvarez said after Friday’s weigh-in. “I always thought of coming back to fight in Guadalajara, but sometimes you expect something, and the result is even better.”
Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) won the WBO interim super middleweight title in his last fight after his opponent, the previously undefeated Zach Parker, quit in the fourth round due to a broken hand. Ryder also has a win over former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs. But he is no world-beater, as the odds for Saturday’s main event suggest. Alvarez is -2000 at BetMGM, and Ryder is +1000.
“I’ve had my ups and downs in my career, taken my knocks, and I’ve come back," Ryder said. "I think this fight has come at the right time. I am at my best physically and mentally that I’ve ever been, and I am really looking forward to it. Canelo is still up there as one of the best pound-for-pound and the best of our generation. He’s so dangerous, and the best of him could still be to come.”
The main card will begin at 7 p.m. ET on DAZN Pay-Per-View ($54.99 for existing DAZN subscribers) with the main event slated to begin around 11 p.m. ET.
Yahoo Sports will have complete coverage of the main event, so keep it locked here and follow along with our live tracker below for all the details.
Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder live updates
Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder main card, odds (Live now on DAZN Pay-Per-View)
Super middleweight: Canelo Alvarez (-2000 )vs. John Ryder (+750)
Flyweight: Julio Cesar Martinez (c) (-1650) vs. Ronal Batista (+650)
Super lightweight: Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (-175) vs. Steve Spark (+145)
Light heavyweight: Oleksandr Gvozdyk (-850) vs. Ricards Bolotniks (+450)