Canelo Alvarez had his maiden outing of 2023, and he was met with a resistant John Ryder despite dominating large portions of the fight.
The Mexican icon threatened to end the fight early on a number of occasions but Ryder’s will just wouldn’t break and even though he lost, he emerged from the fight with huge credit.
With Canelo securing back-to-back wins since his points defeat to Dmitry Bivol last May, has the former pound for pound king managed to crack the top three?
Beating Gennadiy Golovkin last September didn’t improve his ranking on the DAZN Pound for Pound list, and it’s the same outcome for being successful against Ryder.
Canelo has made it clear in multiple interviews that he’s eager to avenge his loss to Bivol and that’s the fight he wants next.
If Canelo can somehow defeat Bivol, a fight he would begin as underdog, then it’s very likely his position in the ratings would be upgraded.
The multi-weight world champion is still very much one of boxing's most impressive performers, but his most recent successes against Golovkin and Ryder are not enough to elevate him.