For the first time in over a decade, “Canelo” fights in his home country.

Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2 39 KOs) will defend the titles against John Ryder (32-5 18 KOs) on May 6th at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico which headlines a card that will be televised worldwide on DAZN and DAZN PPV. This will be the second defense of the undisputed titles for Alvarez, as he is coming off of defeating Gennady Golovkin last September in Las Vegas. He has won 16 of his last 18 fights, and the veteran of nearly 18 years as a pro is eager to get back in the ring as he had surgery following his victory over Golovkin.

“I feel really happy to be coming back in May because following my surgery, I was unsure of when I’d be coming back,” said Canelo. “Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy. And in John Ryder, I’m facing a very competitive fighter.”

Ryder has been a contender for a world title before, falling short against Callum Smith in 2019. Since then, he has gone on a four fight winning streak including victories over Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker. The win against Parker put him in this position to face Alvarez for the undisputed title.

“There’s no denying that Canelo is one of the greats and I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s achieved in the sport but I fully believe this is my time fulfil my dream of becoming a World champion,” said Ryder. “I’m not going over there for a holiday. For me this is purely business and my full focus is on going into his backyard in Guadalajara on May 6 and bringing those belts back with me to the UK. I want to thank the team, Tony and Charlie Sims and Matchroom Boxing for making this happen.”

Cover photo by Frederic J. Brown of Getty Images