Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez dominates brave John Ryder and retains undisputed super-middleweight crown in Mexican homecoming
SAUL ‘CANELO’ ALVAREZ celebrated a stunning Mexican homecoming by dominating brave John Ryder in front of 50,000 raucous fans.
The 32-year-old successfully defended his undisputed super-middleweight crown on points in an historic night in Guadalajara at Estadio Akron as he fought on home soil for the first time since 2011.
Canelo dominated the British boxer throughout and dropped Ryder in round five.
The Londoner fought back to go the distance but there was no doubt whose hand would be raised come the final bell.
And it was Canelo that was celebrating as two judges scored the bout 118-109 in his favour while the other went 120-107 to the icon.
That cemented the four-weight world champion his 59th victory since turning professional, with two losses and two draws.
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It was Ryder’s sixth defeat in 38 outings and was his second unsuccessful attempt for a world title.
The fight, billed as “The King is coming home”, started strongly for the local hero as he landed two huge left hooks to the challenger’s body in the first.
Ryder's nose was then busted open two rounds later, leaving him with a bloodied face for the rest of the fight.
The vocal crowd then erupted in the fifth as Canelo landed a massive left-right combo that sent Ryder staggering backwards before he eventually fell to the canvas.
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The Englishman took an eight count and managed to see out the round but he was on the floor again in the eighth - but that referee declared that it was a slip.
A sensational round nine followed as another combination from Canelo saw the official poised to step in and stop it, but Ryder sucked it up and began trading back in a gutsy effort.
Ryder then knew he needed a knockout in the championship round and he began landing with more ease on Canelo, but he was unable to rock the superstar, although it was clear his performance had won the respect of the Mexican crowd.