Written by: Shawn Cross
In May, Canelo Alvarez returned home. The red-haired star, who is still arguably the most popular boxer on the planet, will fight again in his native Mexico this spring. “I am ready to return to my home to defend my titles in the place where I was born and to start my story with the people who have always supported me,” Canelo said via a 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 was frankly not surprising, as there was talk that Canelo would fight in his home country next – although there was also talk that he might fight in Great Britain.
As he points out in the letter, Canelo will not only fight in his native Mexico, but in his home country of Jalisco. He is definitely a native son who has done well for himself. Canelo basically dominated the post-Mayweather era of boxing, after all. He was also an outspoken and patriotic Mexican. Consider the fact that the man hasn’t fought south of the American border since defeating Kermit Citron in 2011, and it’s no wonder why he wanted to fight in front of his home crowd this time around.
Canelo’s opponent in May appears to be England’s John Ryder. Although not quite as big a name as some of Canelo’s newer opponents like Gennady Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol and Caleb Plant, Ryder has captured the interim WBO super middleweight title. He also defeated Daniel Jacobs, who, even though Jacobs was arguably past his prime at the time, was still a young thing. With that in mind, two of Canelo’s former victims have outshone the Londoner: Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith, respectively. Canelo-Ryder may not be great, but honestly, Canelo deserves his hard-earned break.
While some of the top fighters only fight once, maybe twice a year, none of them were fed the steady diet of serious competition that Canelo pursued. A look at Canelo’s resume is awe of the opponents the man has faced over the past decade. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Lara Irishman. Miguel Cotto. Amir Khan, Sergey Kovalev, Billy Joe Saunders…the list goes on and on. So yeah, Canelo deserves a break, especially after losing to Bivol last year while trying to win his second world title in the light heavyweight division. Hopefully Mexican fans will enjoy the show this spring, regardless of who Canelo ultimately turns out to be.
