Can Rhodes beat Alvarez? Matthew Hatton gives his verdict
Ryan Rhodes gets his long awaited and well deserved WBC light-middleweight title shot on Saturday night in Guadalajara, Mexico. His opponent, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is expected by many to be Mexico’s next big thing.
One of his admirers is Oscar De La Hoya who signed Alvarez to his promotional outfit, Golden Boy Promotions. Although Ryan enters the fight as the underdog I know he fancies the job against Alvarez. Rhodes has proved himself time and time again, we know what to expect from Ryan. The question is, can Alvarez continue to pass every test with flying colours and prove to the boxing world that all the hype is well justified?
While boxing fans around the UK are trying to pick a winner and attempt to figure out what the outcome of this highly anticipated bout may look like, BoxRec News caught up with Matthew Hatton who has experienced ‘Canelo’ first hand. (Pictured above, Hatton preparing for his fight with Alvarez)
Matthew made the trip to LA in March to fight for the WBC title which is on the line on Saturday. He lost the fight but came away with a lot of respect for his performance. Matt talked about his bout with Alvarez and explained how good he thinks Alvarez is.
“Obviously before I fought him there was a lot of hype about him as expected. When I’d watched him on tape before the fight I genuinely believed I could beat him. I do believe the main thing in our fight was the size difference; he was 9lbs heavier on fight night. Anyway, he is a very good fighter. He’s a hard puncher and a very good body puncher.
"He has so much variety in his punches and they are all very accurate. Having shared the ring with him I do rate him very highly.”
Ryan is heading to Mexico full of confidence and Matt feels his confidence is justified.
“I do think there is a chance Ryan can pull off a surprise. He is unbeaten at light-middleweight and maybe in this fight Ryan will be the bigger man on the night. Ryan is a very experienced fighter and does possess a lot of power, so I do think he has a decent chance come Saturday night.”
Both these guys have the attributes to go on and win this fight. Between the two of them they have 57 KO wins from 81 fights. There is so much more to their games than just hitting hard but Matthew feels that power may be the deciding factor in this bout.
“Both these guys carry good power that can make a difference. I really do believe it’s going to be a very entertaining fight. I think it could be quite close and both fighters will have their moments. I’m sure Ryan will have some success because he’s an awkward southpaw who can switch hit too. It’s got all the makings of an interesting fight and while the fight lasts I don’t think there will be too much between them."
Being the away fighter and the challenger is no easy task, let alone travelling over the other side of the world to face the country's next big hope. Matthew faced a very partisan crowd when he fought Alvarez in LA and didn’t let the pressure get to him. He fully expects Ryan not to be fazed by the situation either.
“He really is travelling into the lion's den but I don’t think that will bother him too much because he is so experienced and I expect him to be able to deal with it.”
Ryan has been fighting pro since 1995 and you will find it hard to think of many of our boxers who are more worthy of winning a world title.
