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Canelo Alvarez to reportedly face John Ryder on May 6 in Mexico ahead of Dmitry Bivol rematch

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 16: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez smiles during the press conference on the 'VMC' beverages by 'Canelo' Alvarez at Monumento A La Revolucion on November 16, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

Canelo Alvarez is expected to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship on May 6 against interim WBO champion John Ryder in Jalisco, Mexico, on May 6, his first bout in his homeland since he stopped Kermit Cintrón on Nov. 26, 2011, in Mexico City. ESPN first reported Saturday that the bout was headed to Jalisco, though it reported the venue has not been finalized.

WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel told Yahoo Sports on Saturday that Alvarez would fight Ryder next, but said he was uncertain of the date or the venue.

"I can tell you they are going to fight, but they haven't sent us the letter requesting sanction yet and so I don't know where," Valcarcel told Yahoo Sports.

On Feb. 3, promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom told BoxingScene the bout likely would be in Mexico.

"Canelo really wants to fight in Mexico,” Hearn said. “Again, every time you make that move you have to unfortunately take it on the chin that you’re gonna make a lot less money. But again, he’s doing OK. And he’ll still make a lot of money to fight in Mexico. I think he wants to take the fight to the people, and Ryder could be in the right mix for that."

Alvarez underwent surgery on his left wrist in October, weeks after he thrashed Gennadiy Golovkin in their bout for the undisputed super middleweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 17.

The plan is for Alvarez to use the fight with Ryder, who won the interim WBO belt when he defeated Zach Parker at the O2 Arena in London on Nov. 26, as a tune-up of sorts. Parker broke his right hand in the fight and could not continue, giving Ryder the win. If Alvarez gets past Ryder, as expected, he'll rematch with Dmitry Bivol in September. Bivol defeated Alvarez on May 7, 2022, in Las Vegas in a light heavyweight title fight. The rematch would be at super middleweight.

Ryder will be a massive underdog against Alvarez, who is 58-2-2 with 39 knockouts. Alvarez is fourth on Yahoo Sports' pound-for-pound rankings.

Ryder is 32-5 with 18 KOs. Before winning the interim belt by defeating Parker, his biggest win was a split decision over Danny Jacobs on Feb. 12, 2022, in London.

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