If momentum truly is a thing, John Ryder had all of it in the world. He hit the cruise control button against Mike Guy, knocked out Jozef Jurko, and scored back-to-back upsets over Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker. All of those steps led him to the front door of Canelo Alvarez.
It was the biggest night of his life but one where most believed he was in over his head. It was a cogent argument in favor of Alvarez. He held, and still does, every world title at 168 pounds, is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame once he decides to hang them up.
Ryder, on the other hand, was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. Still, he fought hard but was ultimately outclassed. Although it was one-way traffic all night long, Ryder is hoping that he can string together a few victories and run things back.
“I wanna get my rematch with Canelo,” Ryder told Fight Hub TV recently.
Getting Alvarez back in the ring seems like a long shot. But, Ryder can put himself back in the mix, to a certain extent, if he takes care of business against Jaime Munguia this weekend.
Once again, Ryder will saunter to the ring as an underdog. A big one. Yet, that doesn’t bother him. With just a few days remaining before they get it on, Ryder sits back and reminisces. Things didn’t quite go his way against Alvarez. In fact, it was a nightmare.
But, there’s always a bit of good that comes from embarrassing nights. Ryder was vague when discussing that part but he did admit that fighting Alvarez, no matter how ugly it got for him, wasn’t as bad as it seems.
“I think I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot being in there with him.”