John Ryder says he is not making up the numbers against Canelo

British boxer John Ryder claims he will be no pushover as he prepares to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight titles this weekend.

Ryder has travelled to Guadalajara in Mexico as he aims to become England’s first undisputed male champion in the four-belt era on May 6th.

Canelo bounced back from his defeat to Dmitry Bivol, this exact weekend last year, with a unanimous decision victory over Gennadiy Golovkin four months later and while fighting in Mexico is new for Ryder, Canelo has never fought in front of his home crowd either.

Much discussion leading up to the fight has claimed champion Canelo has chosen an ‘easy’ bout in a bid to add another British fighter to his winning record, along with the other seven that have come before The Gorilla.

Ryder is keen to show the world that Saturday will not be straightforward for Canelo and is ready to make a statement.

He told the PA news agency: “I’m sure people do see it as an easy fight but I’m in there to make a statement and stake my own claim on the super-middleweight division.

“I want to show people I do deserve to be a true world champion. I was harshly judged on in the fight with (Callum) Smith and already should have a world title but I’m blessed that this opportunity has come now.

“I’ve worked hard, I’ve had a few more fights in and around that level, picked up the interim world title and now I’m sitting in a fantastic position taking on Canelo next.”

Ryder has previously lost five career fights to Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield, Rocky Fielding, and the most recent being Callum Smith in 2019 by unanimous decision.

Since then, Ryder has won four fights which has given him the opportunity to take on Canelo, but he is not