It’s still unknown at this time, but fight fans may see the great Canelo Alvarez (58–2–2, 39 KO) compete for the final time later this evening (Sat., May 6, 2023) live on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico. The reigning WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight champion will look to defeat John Ryder (32-5, 18 KO) in front of a wild hometown crowd in Mexico.
Alvarez, who is coming off a trilogy win over Gennady Golovkin back in Sept. 2022, is a massive -1800 betting favorite to take care of business Saturday night against Ryder. However, Canelo has already stated that he plans on walking away from the sport of boxing with a loss to Ryder on home soil.
It’s crazy to think that Alvarez has been at the top of the sport for the past eight years. The Mexican champion has produced a staggering 16-1-1 record since his decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in 2013 and has knocked off some of the best names in boxing along the way. Alvarez remains the face of boxing so it would be devastating to see him walk away even though he’s arguably still at the top of his game.
That said, Alvarez has been dropping hints all week about possibly retiring from boxing. On Friday after official weigh ins, Canelo admitted that he would step away from fighting if Ryder were to pull off a major upset and defeat him in front of his Mexican fanbase. Check it out below:
Canelo says he will retire from boxing if John Ryder beats him tomorrow pic.twitter.com/NaogLz3uEh
— Steve Ruigu Njuguna (@Joashnjuguna) May 6, 2023
“There’s been some rumors that you’re fighting here (in Jalisco) because this could be your last fight,” said reporter Chris Mannix. “Is there any chance this is your last fight?”
“Look, if John Ryder beats me…..I’m done,” replied Canelo.
Earlier this week, Alvarez revealed that he has a desire to make a run at professional golfing after hanging up his boxing gloves. If Ryder is able to dig deep and deliver the performance of a lifetime then fans may be seeing Alvarez hit the greens sooner rather than later.
Canelo Alvarez has revealed that he is eyeing up a pro career in golf after retiring from boxing: “We’ll see. It’d be amazing if I could make the [PGA] Tour. Fantastic if I ever got to play in a major. Almost everyone says it can’t be done because I started so late.” [@MailSport]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 2, 2023
“We’ll see. It’d be amazing if I could make the [PGA] Tour. Fantastic if I ever got to play in a major. Almost everyone says it can’t be done because I started so late,” Alvarez told Mail Sport.
It should be an interesting night of fights to say the least and a main event that will cast a little extra attention as Canelo could make his final walk to the ring.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the Canelo vs. Ryder main event HERE. The PPV main card broadcast kicks off on DAZN PPV at 7 p.m. ET, while Canelo and Ryder are expected to make their ring walks around 10 p.m. ET.