AFTER his gutsy showing against Canelo Alvarez last year, the reputation of John Ryder reached new heights, in turn meaning his name was linked to more big fights.
He may not have got the win against the super-middleweight champion, but a bloodied Ryder recovered from being dropped in round five and fought to the very end. While the result was rarely in doubt the Brit stood tall and emerged with great credit.
On January 27, Ryder will be in America for another high-profile assignment, this time against Jaime Munguia.
“I want to continue operating at this level against big-name operators,” Ryder told Boxing News. “This is perfect for me. If I’d had a list of five names, he would have been top or thereabouts. He needs to beat me to guarantee himself a shot at Canelo and I need to beat him to keep going; to keep my dreams alive.
“He’s gonna be tough,” Ryder added. “He doesn’t know how to lose yet, and I’ve got to go there and stick it to him. I’ve got to show him the levels, as such. Show him what it’s like to be in there with Canelo and use all this knowledge I’ve gained; all this frustration I’ve gained through the years of close fights not going my way. I’ve got to go in there and leave it all in the ring.”
A natural fear for any away fighter travelling from overseas is getting a fair shake on the scorecards. For many, Ryder’s short trip to Liverpool, where he lost to Callum Smith in November 2019, was an example of unfair scoring from the judges ringside. This time Ryder will be thousands of miles away in Phoenix, Arizona.
“I think we saw a fair scorecard (in Munguia’s fight) against [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko.” Ryder said. “I think it was pretty much down to the last round and I think Munguia pulled it out in that last round, dropping him and swinging it in his favour.
“It’s all very well saying we’re going to Mexico or the U.S but it’s all on the same platform; it’s all on DAZN. It’s going out to every country. It’s not like some unknown channel in Russia no-one’s gonna see. I think we’re going to get a fair crack of the whip. And that’s all I hope that we get a fair crack of the whip and that the fight is judged fairly.”
