On a sun splashed stage in San Diego on Thursday, Canelo Álvarez was back in familiar surroundings. A confident opponent alongside him. A talkative promoter in between them. Cameras rolled. Photographers snapped pictures. Reporters lobbed questions. Álvarez’s title defense against John Ryder—ticketed for May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico—isn’t a big event by Canelo’s standards. But any press conference he is involved in makes it feel like one.
“Don’t miss it,” said Álvarez, smiling. “I’m more motivated than ever.”
Six months have passed since he completed his trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin. That’s a short layoff by today’s metrics, when elite fighters routinely—and unfortunately—fight once a year. For Álvarez, it’s an eternity. He collected four belts in an 11-month span between 2020 and ’21 and fought twice in ’22. He underwent surgery on his left hand in November but said he is back to full training.
