Mexican Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez this Saturday defeated Britain’s John Ryder by unanimous decision to retain his titles in the super middleweight division, returning to the ring after wrist surgery.
Álvarez won by scores of 120-107, 118-109 and 118-109 in a one-way fight.
In Guadalajara, his hometown, “Canelo” controlled the fight from start to finish, although he failed to reach his goal of achieving the 40th knockout of his professional career.
After a first round of several shots, the Guadalajara man started to take advantage of an opponent with little initiative with good combinations from midfield.
In the third round, Ryder began to bleed profusely, and in the fourth, he took straight punches, jabs, and punches to the Monarch’s stomach.
Álvarez was discovered in the fourth, with the ‘swing’ and combinations of Ryder’s anatomy, left vulnerable and punished with a straight left hand that caused a protection account. The Mexican insisted on taking down his rival, who escaped.
The fight came with an imbalance of forces midway through; for every two punches by the champion, the challenger received one hit.
Red in blood, Ryder held on, penalizing “Canelo” in the sixth, but got a reaction from the Mexican that increased his advantage on the judges card.
Careful of the defense, with his guard closed, Saúl waited for the moment to take down the Briton, with stamina and a big heart, despite the bloodshed that smeared the champion’s face and also the canvas.
The eighth round ended with a fall for the title contender, due to a stumbling block after an offensive from “Canelo”, convincing in his return to the ring.
After dominating in the first two minutes of the ninth round, Alvarez rocked Ryder twice with a pair of right hands; The Briton held on and showed pride with a couple of left shots despite finishing.
“You can knock them out,” his trainer Eddy Reynoso told the Mexican, with two rounds to go. In the eleventh, “Canelo” was superior again, but couldn’t take down the resistant Ryder who remained on his feet at the end of the twelfth.
“Canelo” had 59 wins, 39 by knockout, with two losses and two draws, and Ryder suffered his sixth setback with 32 wins, 18 by fast track.
“It was a responsibility to fight for my people who are very special to me; with discipline I was able to deliver a great night; Ryder is a great warrior,” said the champion.
Previously, Mexican Julio César “Rey” Martínez defeated Panamanian Ronal Batista by knockout in 11 rounds and retained the World Boxing Council flyweight championship belt.
Source: El heraldo
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