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A bloodied John Ryder rocked the canvas after being sent tumbling by Canelo Alvarez in the fifth round. A fast, crisp combination from the Mexican superstar appeared to satisfy a feverish crowd at his Guadalajara homecoming. And then the Briton summoned immense courage, despite a brief, yet uncertain stare into the abyss of the Akron Stadium. The echo of trainer Tony Sims’ advice and encouragement seemed to fix Ryder’s concentration to beat the referee’s count and then fend off the belligerent force of Canelo with a knockout in sight. Plan A had been left in pieces with precious seconds between rounds frittered away after cotton buds momentarily stemmed the flow of blood from his nostrils to his mouth, following a suspected broken nose suffered in the third round. But as Canelo licked his lips, eager to snatch a morale-boosting stoppage to gain valuable momentum for a rematch against Dmitry Bivol, Ryder grappled, closed the distance and left his rival and 50,000 fans frustrated across seven more gruelling rounds. The outcome was never in doubt as Canelo sauntered to a unanimous decision, with the judges returning cards of 120-107, 118-109 and 118-109 to ensure the undisputed super-middleweight world championship remains in Mexico. Yet Ryder validated his own worth and perhaps banished a layer of agony from a career that has included, to many, a cruel defeat by Callum Smith in 2019 - his only previous shot at a world title. There is no trinket to remember this brave effort either, yet Ryder clearly belongs at this level. And after rising from the canvas, the 34-year-old even put together a flashy combination of his own, pairing a left uppercut with a left hook to force the Canelo truck back into reverse. “Ryder has realised he’s a world-class fighter,” said promoter Eddie Hearn following the contest. “He’ll wake up and enjoy himself. He busted his nose, he won rounds later on, it was a fantastic effort, he didn’t look for a way out.” So what next for Canelo? This was scarcely more momentum after victory last time out against the faded force of the once ferocious Gennady Golovkin, who still closed hard to show signs that the Mexican, too, is past his prime. But Canelo’s pride may yet take him back to 175 pounds against the naturally bigger Bivol. His chances of revenge increase at super-middleweight, where the Russian appears bewitched by the prospect of glory at a second weight, which would bring an experience yet to be tasted given the politics involved at light-heavyweight with compatriot Artur Beterbiev: Supremacy. The clamour for a clash with David Benavidez at 168 pounds only grows louder, with the Mexican-American dispatching one of Canelo’s previous victims in Caleb Plant with added finesse. But just like Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch in the past, two fighters from different generations might never share the ring together. Such is Canelo’s desire to chase greatness, you sense his mind is made up with Bivol eventually lured into a rematch under the same terms by the exceptional riches available. Yet his 12 rounds with Ryder can serve a purpose when he embraces the rare position of the underdog. “Everybody knows, we want the rematch with Bivol,” Canelo said after seeing off Ryder. “Same rules, same everything, I just want it in that way.” Canelo would be wise to learn from Ryder’s battling qualities. Against Bivol, he will need them. Read More Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder full scorecards revealed Broken, bloodied and ultimately beaten but John Ryder earned huge respect John Ryder took on the full power of Canelo Alvarez and emerged an unlikely hero John Ryder took on the full power of Canelo Alvarez and emerged an unlikely hero KSI vs Fournier: Start time, undercard and everything you need to know How to watch KSI vs Fournier online and on TV this weekend

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The blood still dripped from John Ryder’s broken nose as he sat down to address the throng of media gathered in the bowels of the Estadio Akron just before midnight local time. The bone had shattered in the second round when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez landed with a sharp right hand. Three rounds later he was dropped heavily as he gulped back a steady flow of his own blood in order to keep breathing. “I felt it go instantly,” Ryder said, wiping blood off the table in front of him. “It threw me for a couple of rounds but it is what it is.” Despite all that, Ryder made it through all 12 rounds of his challenge for the Mexican icon’s four super-middleweight belts on a night he will never forget as long as he lives. It was a performance that led Canelo to label Ryder as the best of the eight British men he now holds wins over. By the time Canelo had made that evaluation at his press conference in the early hours of Sunday morning, Ryder was already back at the fight hotel, battered, bruised and with a bandage strapped around his nose but surrounded by the friends and family who made the trip. He would by then have seen the hugely positive response to his gutsy performance from across the boxing world. And, although the north Londoner had suggested pre-fight that he would only keep fighting as long as he was winning, Ryder has vowed to box on after enhancing his reputation in defeat. “I think I’ll carry on,” he said. “I got a lot of enjoyment out of that fight, although I got a busted nose. Ultimately, though, I’ll sit down with the team and my family and just evaluate. “I’ve got no regrets, I just could have done without getting hit with that punch in the second round, then things could have been different. But I’m just happy I live to see another day and fight another fight. I’m sat here looking like an absolute victim with my nose in plaster but, listen, I’ve dared to dream and I’ve come up short. “The overriding feeling is that I’m gutted but I’ll sit down now with my team and see where we go from there. “Coming away with a win was the ultimate goal, going the distance isn’t. I made a fight of it for a while but on the scorecards it wasn’t that close. Moral victory? Maybe, yeah. But I came here with a dream and I didn’t achieve it. “I’m just gutted. I’ve put so much into the sport over the last few years and haven’t always got the rub of the green. I came here with a dream but I fell short – that’s boxing. I won’t be the first and I won’t be the last.” It looked as though Ryder could be on the verge of a stoppage in the fifth round when a straight, hard one-two combination sent him staggering back against the ropes and then onto the canvas. But the man known as the Gorilla says it was the spirit of another famous British super-middleweight that got him through the crisis. “It’s all that time I’ve spent with Nigel Benn,” said Ryder, who trains alongside the former world champion’s son Conor in Tony Sims’ gym. “I just thought to myself ‘what would Nigel Benn do? He’d come out swinging. He’d probably knock him out though. I didn’t do that, unfortunately. Listen I’m in the gym around great fighters and idols so I could pull from the best in the business.” Canelo had predicted during fight week that he would be able to get rid of Ryder inside six rounds and even said he’d retire from boxing if he was beaten at the Akron Stadium. And Ryder believes his inability to find that stoppage is evidence the 32-year-old is in decline after 63 fights as a professional. Of Canelo, Ryder added: “He was very good but I think he is past his best but he still had enough in his tank tonight. “Why is he past his best? Because he couldn’t get me out of there. His plan was to stop me and he didn’t. I know I took a great shot in the fifth round but I came back swinging and had some good rounds after that.” But Canelo only smiled when he was later told of Ryder’s assessment. “For them it’s a win not getting knocked out, right?” the Mexican said. “But we need to give him credit. He came to fight. His preparation was very good, and I respect the fight he did. “He’s strong. He did everything in the ring, and that’s what I expected. I saw him fighting with the other guys, and he’s tough. I think he’s the best British fighter I’ve faced.” This was Canelo’s first fight back in his home town of Guadalajara since 2011 when he beat another Brit, Ryan Rhodes, across town at the Arena VFG. He has since evolved into a genuine boxing superstar and the biggest attraction in the sport. On this Cinco de Mayo weekend, more than 50,000 people packed inside the stadium, where Mexican top-flight team Chivas play their home games. And, although he failed to get the stoppage he craved, Canelo said: “Tonight was more than I even expected. I’m just proud about fighting here with my people and bringing this kind of fight for them. They deserve it, and it’s more than I expected.” Now Canelo will look ahead to his second date of the year, Mexican Independence Day which falls on 16 September, and confirmed that he hopes to secure a rematch with Dmitry Bivol who beat him 12 months ago. “That’s my goal this year,” he said. “But you know, if that fight doesn’t happen – we’ll see – but that’s my goal this year.” Read More Frustrated Canelo Alvarez must take valuable homecoming lesson from gutsy John Ryder The shadow of Dmitry Bivol looms over Canelo vs Ryder Blood, beers and tears: What to expect from Canelo’s homecoming, 12 years in the making John Ryder took on the full power of Canelo Alvarez and emerged an unlikely hero The sporting weekend in pictures Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder full scorecards revealed

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