Robert Brizel Editorial: Ryders Of The Storm

Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

To make the point clear, John ‘The Gorilla” Ryder is willing to step in to replace Billy Joe Saunders against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez if Saunders backs out of his scheduled showdown with Canelo on May 6, 2021, Saturday night at AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas. Ryder was angling for a no spectator bout with Canelo on September 12, 2021. Ryder flew to Dallas in the expectation Saunders was going to back out. Canelo’s take is 33 million. Saunders or Ryder will take home substantially less than that, but a good piece of change. Top ten super middleweight contender Ryder 29-5 with 16 knockouts, London, United Kingdom, has already gone the distance with Saunders and Callum Smith (Canelo’s last opponent). Ryder showed guts but discarding ring size, paycheck and other petty details into the wind.





Ryder has more guts than Andy Ruiz Jr. did as a last minute opponent for Anthony Joshua. He who believes he can beat Canelo at the last minute is a good poke, and believe it or not, Canelo is ill-advised to take on a confident soul like Ryder at the last minute. Maybe Ryder knows something we don’t. To hell with the judges, just take on the storm, like the old Jim Morrison song “Riders of The Storm.” Like a dog without a bone, just meet the challenge confidently head on. While Canelo is well-hyped and will always be so, there’s something to be said for Ryder’s brash attitude, or the defensive nature of the promoters keeping Ryder available to salvage the show. Canelo, Saunders and Ryder are all riders of the current controversy, and Canelo’s only way out is to fight and defeat both fighters now caught in the triangular ring storm.

Canelo has a fight schedule to keep every several months contractually, and he remains boxing’s heir apparent to keep the sport alive during the pandemic. One has to admire Ryder’s guts, tenacity, fortitude and brashness to be willing to meet Canelo only Ryder essentially traveled the distance from Great Britain to Dallas with the belief he could at least go the distance, one way or the other he has. Based on his positive confident attitude, Ryder has won himself, in the least, the opportunity to fight the winner of Canelo versus Saunders. With a win in his last bout, Ryder will be next up against Canelo on September 12, 2021, spectators or not. Ryder deserves the chance, in May or September, he is at least a worthy opponent with the frame of mind to meet the Canelo challenge head on. Sooner or later, somebody is going to take Canelo downtown and beat him convincingly by stoppage or on the scorecards. Canelo had better remain on his guard or the upset will eventually occur. This reporter believes Canelo would NOT function well at 175 pounds in the long run. Canelo is still an overblown middleweight, and a win over a faded Sergey Kovalev is not enough to justify fighting Beterbiev, Bivol, or any of the other top light heavyweight champions with a guaranteed expectation of a win. Ryder is not a walk in the park either.




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