By and large, if you considered yourself one of the best fighters in or around the weight class of Canelo Alvarez, chances are, the Mexican native showed an interest in fighting you.
But while Alvarez has garnered a reputation for taking on all comers, his brazen and hubris attitude came back to haunt him in 2022.
With his stature as the best fighter at 168 pounds unquestioned, Alvarez attempted to prove his superiority one division higher against Dmitry Bivol.
Pegged as a healthy favorite during their May showdown, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) was ultimately bemused as the Russian native dictated most of the action, en route to a unanimous decision victory. Although the pound-for-pound star bounced back just a few months later, winning a decision against Gennadiy Golovkin, the 32-year-old would undergo wrist surgery at the end of the year.
At the moment, nothing is set in stone but Alvarez appears on the verge of taking on surging contender, John Ryder. News of their negotiations has drawn the ire of Demetrius Andrade. While he refrained from calling the longtime veteran a complete soft touch, the former Olympian made it known that Ryder hasn’t done enough to warrant a shot at the undisputed champion.
“Not saying John Ryder’s an easy opponent but come on man,” said Andrade on The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer.
The vagarious nature of Andrade has reached its boiling point as of late. After years of goading Alvarez, Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) has come to the conclusion that he may never be given the opportunity to face him. Most recently, the former two-time WBO champion packed his middleweight bags and headed eight pounds north.
His impetuous decision to campaign as a super middleweight has yielded sparkling results thus far as Andrade outclassed Demond Nicholson just a few short weeks ago.
Ryder, in the meanwhile, is salivating over a possible bout against Mexico’s Alvarez. Undoubtedly, 2022 was a banner year for the longtime contender. Following wins over the likes of Daniel Jacobs, Jozef Jurko, and Zach Parker, he is now in possession of the WBO interim tag.
Still, regardless of his recent string of success, Andrade believes that he’s nothing more than a tenuous challenger. As the soon-to-be 35-year-old takes a look at the shark-infested waters at 168 pounds, Andrade becomes baffled that Ryder seems to be on the brink of cashing a golden ticket when there are countless contenders who are ostensibly more worthy.
“How you gonna continue to call him the best or pound-for-pound when he’s fighting guys like that? You got David Benavidez, Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo - you got guys that you should've been fought, not John Ryder.”