Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder fight prediction, odds, undercard,

The last time Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fought in his home country of Mexico, he was a rising 21-year-old star making the third defense in his first reign as world champion. Alvarez returns to Mexico on Saturday as undisputed super middleweight champion to defend his titles against mandatory contender John Ryder.

It has been 11 years since Alvarez last fought in Mexico, delivering a five-round thrashing to Kermit Cintron to retain his WBC junior middleweight title. In the years since that fight, Alvarez has become one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound champions and biggest draws. He has won titles at junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight while chasing new challenges and compiling a resume that guarantees him a future spot in the Hall of Fame.

Two fights ago, Alvarez lost for just the second time in his career, returning to light heavyweight for the second time to face undefeated WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. Bivol was the better man that May 2022 night, outboxing Alvarez with a combination of technique and size. Alvarez bounced back with a win over his biggest rival, Gennady Golovkin, in their rubber match in September.

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Ryder is not the most exciting opponent for Alvarez but facing mandatories is part of a champion’s job, and an undisputed champion has plenty of those obligations.

In November, Ryder defeated Zach Parker in five rounds to win the WBO interim title to cement himself as the next man up for Alvarez.

The bout with Alvarez will be Ryder’s second shot at a world title. In November 2019, Ryder fought Callum Smith for the WBA super middleweight title. Smith took the decision after 12 rounds, though many media outlets felt Ryder…