This Saturday, Mexican boxer Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will fight again in Mexico after almost 12 years of absence. Alvarez will face Britain’s John Ryder in an evening in which he will defend his absolute title as world champion in the super middleweight category in his native state of Jalisco. Alvarez holds the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO super middleweight world titles. Since his previous fight in Mexico, Alvarez has made his career in various cities in the United States, where he has become an established boxer and earned $110 million annually, according to Forbes.
Álvarez’s fight against Ryder is part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the state of Jalisco. For this performance, the boxer will be paid around $14 million, down from the $63 million he received last September when he faced Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas. Alvarez said that money “sometimes is not what matters. Fighting in front of my people is worth more than everything.”
The “Gorilla” Ryder was convinced to surprise and dethrone the Mexican multi-champion, but Alvarez commented that “it is a great responsibility for me to come and give them the best fight, the best show to the people who saw me grow from the beginning.” At 32 years of age, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will come with an experience of 62 fights: 58 wins (39 by knockout), two losses, and two draws. John Ryder, two years older, has a record of 37 fights, of which he won 32 (18 by knockout) and lost five (one by knockout). The fight will take place at the Guadalajara “Chivas” stadium of Mexican soccer, where 56,000 spectators are expected to attend.