It’s Canelo fight week, with the Mexican icon looking to down Brit John Ryder on his home turf.
The red head is going to do his thing in familiar territory, in Jalisco, and at 168 pounds. Ryder is a solid craftsman, he’s coming off back to back wins. He “upset” Danny Jacobs in February 2022. Then Ryder stopped then 22-0 Zach Parker, who had to stop from a broken hand.
Who is thinking we see an upset Saturday?
Canelo is 32, Ryder is 34
Ryder is 34, so I wonder if he is at peak, or not.
Canelo (58-2-2) is 32, and pundits mostly think he’s lost a bit. No shame, he has been a pro since 2005.
Fighting at 168, not 175, suits the handsome hitter, so expect him to be “on.”
The atmosphere will be poppin, the energy from the crowd will be apparent and lift up the stakes of the contest. Stranger things have happened than Ryder upsetting the hero in his homeland, right?
Be on the lookout this week for stories by Gayle Falkenthal, Ryan O’Hara and all the NYF talent. Canelo vs Ryder will be front and center, leading to their Saturday scrap.
Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson.
The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999.
Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.