For more than 11 years, Canelo has chased big money fights all over the world, fighting various champions and taking their belts. Now, having established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Canelo has earned the right to fight in his hometown on this special weekend marking 200 years of Mexico’s indepence for what promises to be a spectacular occasion.
Mexico is more than just a birthplace for Canelo, he embodies the Mexican fighting spirit. Making his professional debut at just 15 years of age in Jalisco, the capital city of Guadalajara, 35 of Canelo’s 62 fights have taken place in his native country.
It has been more than 4,100 days since he has been able to return to his roots and put on a show for his compatriots.
“Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy. And in John Ryder, I’m facing a very competitive fighter.” says Canelo about his upcoming fight.
Competitive is one way to describe ‘The Gorilla’. The knockout artist from London is coming off a four-fight win streak that saw him win the WBO Interim World Super Middleweight title and become the next mandatory challenger for Canelo.
Ryder has not had a linear upward trajectory to the top - after several losses, some considered to be destined for regional European success at best, and Ryder was even forced to pick up work as a nightclub bouncer to pay the bills, but this only fueled his fire and grew his determination to train.
All one has to do is watch the weigh-in face off between Canelo and Ryder to find that both men believe they can win this fight, and not one iota of fear is found in either boxer.
“In John Ryder, you have a mandatory challenger that has paid his dues and off the back of big wins against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker is ready for the ultimate challenge” promoter Eddie Hearn said regarding the fight.
These days, at 32, Canelo is not quite the transcendent, all-powerful boxer he was once considered. At this time last year, Canelo lost seven of the 12 rounds on all judges' scorecards when he dared to be great, moving up in weight challenging Light Heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol (32).
Four months later, Canelo defended his Super Middleweight championships, squeaking out a narrow victory against Gennady Golovikin (41) while losing most of the later rounds.
Many wondered if father time was catching up to Canelo, but he went on to explain the recent drop in form. “I need surgery on my hand after this because I'm not good from my left hand.
"But I'm good, I'm a warrior, that's why I'm here… I need to come back and get strength in my hand, recover my hand and my body so I can come back stronger than ever," he said.”
After successful surgery in November of last year, Canelo declares he is now free from pain and can train to the best of his ability.
“Right now, I can train 100% and that motivates me a lot. I’m motivated and confident. That’s everything for a fighter. When you’re motivated to train 100%, you can be confident.”
This weekend in Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico, another chapter in Canelo’s story will be written. Time will tell if Canelo remains the indomitable boxer he once was, or if the pain from nagging injuries starts to creep in. He will need to regain top-form, because Ryder called this the most important fight of his life and will be throwing powerful shots looking for a knockout.
Should Canelo make an error in the ring and fail, it would surely be the end to the weekend’s fiesta - for Canelo, and for all Mexican boxing fans.
