By: Sean Crose
At 35 years of age, John Ryder has fought and lost to arguably the most popular fighter in the world. And while Ryder performed gamely against Canelo Alvarez last May, he wasn’t impressive enough to warrant a rematch. Suffice to say, with a record of 32-6, Ryder isn’t likely to get too many more major opportunities in his career. That’s why his fight this weekend against the undefeated and hard hitting Jaime Munguia is so important. If he pulls off an upset this Saturday night in Phoenix, Ryder might actually get to see more big chances come his way. Should Munguia defeat him, however…
“I am sure that this fight can be a candidate for fight of the year for 2024,” Ryder has said of his impending battle with Munguia. “He’s (Munguia has) got an unbelievable record, 42-0, and he’s got the carrot being dangled of the Canelo fight, like I had against Zach Parker. That adds pressure, you know that is potentially next, so you have to go out there and produce, so it’s down to him now. I’ve had my shot at Canelo, I doubt I’ll get another one if I beat Munguia, but that is the aim, to be in the biggest and best fights possible.”
Ryder clearly doesn’t appear to be in awe of his opponent this weekend. He knows Munguia is dangerous, but he’s not in awe of him. “I rate him,” he’s said of Munguia. “I think his record is not padded but he’s been well maneuvered, his last fight with Sergiy (Dereveyanchenko) he showed some vulnerabilities, he’s made a trainer change to Freddie Roach and that might be a good thing, it might not be, we’ll see. I know what he brings to the table, he throws a lot of shots, and he throws them with bad intentions, but that’s when I think I can capitalize on him.”
To be sure, Munguia certainly had a challenging time when he barely topped a very determined Derevyanchenko in his last fight. “Sergiy gave him all the problems in the world last time,” Ryder has stated, “it came down to the last round and he put him over and the scorecards showed that. So, I hope the fight is judged fairly, I get a fair roll off the dice and that’s all I can ask for.” The Jaime Munguia-John Ryder fight will be aired live on DAZN Saturday evening. The live streamed card will start at 9 PM eastern time.
