John Ryder Confident He’ll Earn A Fight With Canelo Alvarez If He Beats Zach Parker

John Ryder is hoping to earn a fight against Canelo Alvarez next time out.

Ryder has made it known he wants to fight Alvarez for quite some time but before that, he will meet Parker in a highly-anticipated bout next weekend at the O2 Arena in London. Although Ryder knows he can’t look past Parker, he knows a win here puts him in a good spot to get a big fight like Alvarez.

“I think it makes perfect sense, really,” Ryder explained (via BoxingScene). “The winner will be in line for the WBO title, obviously it’s for the interim, and I know [David] Benavidez and [Caleb] Plant are fighting a final eliminator and he [Canelo]’s got options, but I’ve spent two years chasing him [Canelo] around the world, trying to be a backup fighter [if someone drops out], and if I beat Zach Parker next week, I deserve my shot at Canelo and I think I’ve paid my dues.  Following him around the world to see if someone would pull out or fall ill obviously wasn’t the way to go about it, and I deserve a proper camp and proper notice and I’d love to get it on with Canelo, for sure.” 

John Ryder is 31-5 and coming off a split decision win over Daniel Jacobs back in February. He’s currently on a three-fight winning streak and believes Parker is trying to use him to build up his name. Yet, Ryder makes that clear he won’t let that happen and plans to have another solid performance to get the win and get a fight with Alvarez.

“I suppose he [Parker]’s looking at this as his breakout fight and seeing if he can do a number on me and it propels him on and opens doors for him, but I don’t feel like I’m an opponent just yet,” Ryder continued. “I feel I have a lot to give in this sport and at 168 I feel like I’m a different animal to my days at 160, they are well behind me. I can really perform at this weight and this is where I’m going to do the things I set out to do in this sport.”

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