Did he need an opponent at all? Or wouldn't more than 50,000 spectators have gone crazy if the designated hero had only greeted them from the middle of the ring? Anyone who watched the live images of Saúl Alvarez's 63rd professional fight from the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico, on Sunday night, involuntarily came to mind with such questions.
The four-time super middleweight champion didn't even have to make an effort to turn the home of the C.D. Guadalajara football club into his personal salon long before the first gong. It was enough that he simply appeared to the sounds of a ranchero hit, with a golden crown on his head: the prototype of a brave fighter who is called "Canelo" everywhere because of his cinnamon-colored hair.
"The king is coming home" was the official motto under which the best professional boxer celebrated a home game across all weight classes. He was 21 when he defended the WBC super welterweight title in November 2011 at the world's largest bullring in Mexico City by stopping Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron in the fifth round. This was followed by eleven and a half years and 22 fights between New York and Las Vegas, during which he became the nation's most famous labor migrant as well as one of the best boxers ever. Triumphs over legends such as Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and, most recently, Gennady Golovkin (two victories in three fights) have gradually made him a legend himself abroad. And by far the most successful of seven underprivileged brothers, all of whom have tried their hand at the ring.
So it was all about pride on this weekend of the Cinco de Mayo. John Ryder, Alvarez's opponent, played the role of a cue giver in gloves. The 34-year-old right-winger from London (32 wins, five defeats up to that point) should give the local hero, who is two years younger, a spirited fight, at least for a few rounds. This was the only way he could find out whether his left hand, which had been operated on, was functional again – and he was still at the peak of his creativity. After the surprising defeat against light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol a year ago and the unconvincing performance in the third duel with Golovkin (September), suspicions first arose that Canelo could be past the zenith in his 19th professional year (58 wins, two draws and two defeats to date).
"He's a good boxer," the defending champion had said in advance about the WBO mandatory challenger, "but in the end I'll win." Otherwise, he would actually have to state "that I'm through". At first, it didn't look like that at all in the ring of the Estadio Akron. Already in the second round, Alvarez had broken the nose of the Briton, who was lurking in an explosive half-distance. On lap five, Ryder had to go down for the first time after a poisonous two-man combination. This was followed by a second knockdown, which referee Mike Griffin classified as a slip. Nevertheless, the premature end of the settlement seemed to be only a matter of time. As you are used to from Canelo fights.
John Ryder, however, stubbornly refused to be finished. He hardly backed away and always had a few hands of his own in the tough exchange of blows, even if that had little effect. One of them boxed better than ordered - and managed to make the huge favorite cramp with increasing time. He looked minute after minute into the bloody face of his opponent and tried to land the one, decisive power punch. But that didn't work until the final bell. In addition, the tank was alarmingly empty after nine or ten laps. Which is why Alvarez soon limited himself to merely defending his own skin.
Had he perhaps put too much pressure on himself with the intention of offering the whole nation a special spectacle at home? In the first moments after the pronouncement of the unanimous verdict (once 120:107, twice 118:109), the celebrated victor did not quite want to respond to such questions. He just wanted to be "glad" to be back with "my people". "I'm happy with the fight," he assured as he adjusted a golden laurel wreath on his head. This was followed by praise for Ryder as well as a clear statement: The next opponent should now be Bivol, who simply boxed him out a year ago in front of all the Americanos in Las Vegas.
The pride always resonates with the legendary up-and-comer, who used to sell ice cream to bus passengers in the suburb of Juanacatlán. And the firm will to get a special place in the history of his sport, as he explained in advance – as if he hadn't been sure of it for a long time. However, the last laps of the patriotic evening in "El Volcan", as this stadium is called because of its location in a depression, should have been a warning to him. In case of doubt, Canelo will no longer win many fights on the top floor, which he loves so much. In this sense, it is now up to his British promoter Eddie Hearn to arrange the rematch with Bivol as soon as possible. That would be the ultimate summit in Zapopan, as in any other place in the world.