DEPENDING on your point of view, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is either a lover or hater of British fighters. How else to explain him electing as his next opponent the eighth Brit of his career in the shape of John Ryder on Saturday May 7 in Guadalajara, Mexico?

The roll call of top British talent to face and come up short against the Mexican pound for pound great is staggering in the way it confirms his longevity and quality in a sport that is the natural enemy of both. Consider the evidence — Matthew Hatton (2011); Ryan Rhodes (2011); Amir Khan (2016); Liam Smith (2016); Rocky Fielding (2018); Callum Smith (2020); and finally Billy Joe Saunders (2021).

For John Ryder, a solid pro with a record that reveals him to have been up to this point the archetypal nearly man of the fight game, fighting Canelo in his hometown in front of a packed stadium of screaming Mexican fans is the opportunity of a lifetime and fight he is approaching with enjoyment rather than dread. Even so, we can only hope that before the fight he does not happen to watch the recent BBC item featuring Matthew Hatton, titled “How to survive Canelo.”