JOHN RYDER hopes to end his year on a high with another big fight, but the phone needs to start ringing first.
The British super-middleweight has been enjoying some downtime recovering from his efforts against Canelo Alvarez on May 6. Ryder’s points loss in Mexico brought him praise for his gallant performance and on the back of that showing ‘The Gorilla’ had hoped by now to have received another big fight opportunity.
“There is probably a target on my back not that [the] phone’s rung as much as I thought it would’ve,” he told Boxing News.
“I thought there would’ve been fights offered by now. Been a bit quiet. It gives me some time to recover and get ready. I’m hopeful for these big fights because I wanna fight the best whether it be in the UK or Stateside.”
Now 35-years-old Ryder admitted to BN that his best days are probably behind him, but his stock is as high as it’s ever been. The 168lbs belts remain tied up with Canelo who defends them against Jermell Charlo on September 30 in Las Vegas. So, that leaves Ryder eager to face another big name and he picked five fellow super-middleweights he would like to take on.
“For me now, it’s the biggest and best fights. For me it’s about fighting these people. Golovkin if he’s still going to carry on, Plant, Munguia, Benavidez, Berlanga. I want the biggest and best fights out there for me.”
From that quintet it is Golovkin who remains his number one pick. The Kazakh, now 41, has not fought since losing to Canelo in their trilogy bout 10 months ago.
“I think we’re in a similar position,” Ryder said.
“He’s a bit older than me granted, probably our best days are behind us. He might not have the timing or the speed anymore, but he’s still got that vicious punch and that will never leave him till the day he dies. He’s going to be a danger throughout the fight no matter what.”
After beating Martin Murray in February 2015 Golovkin next fought British opposition one year later when he fractured Kell Brook’s right eye socket at the O2 Arena in London. Brook was jumping from welterweight to middleweight however but saw his dreams of a huge upset dashed by a fifth round stoppage.
Getting Golovkin back in the ring will come at a cost far greater than the four other names Ryder mentioned, even more so to lure him to Britain once again. Ryder says if he needs to get back on the road with his gloves and kit he will.
“I hope that the phone starts ringing and offers start coming in because feel like I deserve to be in these big fights. I think I’m a tough night’s work for anyone, so they need to be on their A-game.
“I’ve had a lot of fights on the road now it’d be nice to come back home and have some in the UK but the types of fighters like Golovkin you’ve got to expect a bit of the B-side. I’ll travel wherever I’ve gotta go.”
