Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder fight results, highlights: Mexican superstar scores decisive win in homecoming

Alvarez battered and dropped Ryder en route to a decision in Guadalajara on Saturday night

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is still king of the super middleweights. Alvarez retained his undisputed super middleweight championship on Saturday night, bludgeoning John Ryder over 12 rounds to win a wide unanimous decision in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The fight was the first for Alvarez in his home country in more than a decade and he'd promised his fans he would deliver a knockout. It seemed the former pound-for-pound king would deliver on his promise early. After drawing a steady stream of blood from Ryder's nose, Alvarez landed a right hand that sent Ryder to the canvas in Round 5.

While it looked initially as though Ryder would not beat the count, he did manage to make it back to his feet and continue to fight hard.

Alvarez hurt Ryder several more times in the fight but never managed to score another knockdown, let alone secure the knockout. Still, almost every round was dominated by Alvarez's left to the body and right hand to the head.  

One of the biggest changes Ryder made to survive the remaining rounds was to fall back to his jab. When Ryder was able to pump the jab out, it threw off Alvarez's timing. When Alvarez would begin to get rolling offensively, Ryder would push in and smother the attack. It wasn't necessarily a strategy that would win him the fight, but it did give Ryder something of a moral victory in surviving to the final bell.

The champion's dominance was on display on the final scorecards, with the official scorecards reading 120-107, 118-109 and 118-109. While not scoring the knockout in his return to his hometown may have stung, Alvarez maintained that he was content with the way the fight played out.

"It's a historic moment for me," Alvarez said after the fight. "I'm blessed to be here with my people who support me from the beginning. I'm proud to be here. ... You know, I'm happy with the fight. I'm happy the people had a great fight. He's a strong fighter, I know that. I'm not surprised about it."

After David Benavidez scored an impressive win over former champion Caleb Plant, a new top challenger for Alvarez's status as undisputed champion at super middleweight emerged.

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Despite that, Alvarez seems to be locked in on a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Bivol upset Alvarez in May 2022, a fight that was Alvarez's attempt to win light heavyweight gold for the second time in his career. Since then, Alvarez has had to balance his desire for a rematch with the mandatory challengers for his titles at super middleweight.

After defeating rival career rival Gennady Golovkin in a trilogy fight and dominating Ryder, Alvarez's options for his next fight are wide open.

"You know, everybody knows, we want the rematch with Bivol," Alvarez said. "If the fight with Bivol doesn't happen, we'll see what happens. I can fight everybody."

Bivol has repeatedly brought up that the rematch should happen at super middleweight for Alvarez's four world titles. Again, Alvarez shot down the idea, saying, "Same rules, same everything. I just want it that way."

Ryder now must go back to the drawing board. He has lost two shots at world championship glory. The fight with Alvarez had a clear result while his previous world title challenge had a far more controversial result with Callum Smith winning a highly-questionable decision.

After four consecutive wins to earn another shot at the title, Ryder is unlikely to get another world title opportunity at super middleweight, especially with Alvarez holding all four world titles at the weight.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with the live results and highlights below. 

Fight card, results

• Canelo Alvarez (c) def. John Ryder via unanimous decision (120-107, 118-109, 118-109)
• Julio Cesar Martinez (c) def. Ronal Batista via 11th-round TKO
• Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela def. Steve Spark via split decision (96-93, 94-95, 95-94)
• Oleksandr Gvozdyk def. Ricards Bolotniks via sixth-round TKO

Alvarez vs. Ryder scorecard, live coverage

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Alvarez (c)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	9	118
Ryder	9	9	9	9	8	9	9	9	9	10	9	10	109

[May 7, 2023 at 12:15 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez def. John Ryder via unanimous decision (120-107, 118-109, 118-109) to retain the undisputed super middleweight championship

[May 7, 2023 at 12:11 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 12: More of the same, with Ryder trying to continue to make anything happen, landing the occasional punches and Alvarez landing the harder blows. Ryder tried to keep the fight inside, not allowing Alvarez to extend on his punches. Alvarez seemed to want to land a bomb to finish the fight but Ryder was just not allowing it, smothering the punches to the final bell. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ryder (118-109 Alvarez)

[May 7, 2023 at 12:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 11: Ryder again worked off the jab but was met by a right from Alvarez before two right hands to the body. Alvarez landed a few left hooks and some good right hands. Ryder continued to poke away with shots here and there but on the whole, Alvarez's punches were simply more meaningful when they landed. Alvarez landed a double jab before a right hand that was partially blocked but still moved Ryder off his spot. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (109-99)

[May 7, 2023 at 12:03 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 10: Ryder was on steady legs again to start the round and he landed a few crisp counter lefts. Ryder landed several jabs before Alvarez started firing his own. Alvarez again went to the right straight and landed hard. Alvarez landed a good right hand late but that is the first round Ryder may have won. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ryder (99-90 Alvarez)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 9: Ryder popped out some combinations and jabs, none of which seemed to land with any impact but did keep Alvarez from letting his own hands go briefly. Alvarez responded with sharp jabs. Alvarez landed a jab and right hand before a clash of heads. Alvarez landed another right that stumbled Ryder. Ryder tried to fire back and ate another right, again sending his legs wobbly. Alvarez followed up with more shots, though Ryder whipped some big shots back and Ryder began to yell and demand Alvarez continue fighting. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (90-80)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:55 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 8: Alvarez dug in with more left hooks to the body and overhand rights to the face. Ryder continued to show heart by standing in there and trying to fight but it's been Alvarez landing the only punches that have any real impact or meaning. Another Alvarez right landed and Ryder seemed bothered once again. Ryder tried to flurry, all picked off by Alvarez's arms and Alvarez landed a right hand that sent Ryder to the canvas, though the referee ruled it a slip. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (80-71)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:51 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 7: Ryder seemed to have fully recovered from the earlier trouble at the start of the round. Alvarez responded with jabs and straight right hand, though Ryder landed some more of his own shots. An Alvarez right hand glanced off Ryder's temple and he wobbled briefly but remained upright. Alvarez continued to pop the bloody nose of Ryder with jabs and straight right hands. Ryder still landed a few good right hands. Alvarez landed another left to the body and Ryder's body appeared to show some bruising from the shots. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (70-62)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:47 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 6: Ryder came out throwing good punches, trying to keep Alvarez busy and honest in his attack. Ryder managed to land two to the body and one to the head but an Alvarez right stumbled Ryder again. Ryder landed a good straight left and an uppercut to follow. Alvarez landed a jab, a right hand and then dug to the body. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (60-53)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:43 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 5: Alvarez got right back to the body attack from the jump. Alvarez landed a few jabs and a right hand. Alvarez then threw a jab followed by a stright right and Ryder crumbled against the ropes. Ryder beat the count and started to try to fire back as Alvarez patiently looked for his shots. Ryder landed a few left straights, continuing to try and make something happen. An Alvarez right hand landed flush to the face. Ryder managed to escape the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Alvarez (50-44)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:39 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 4: Alvarez opened with a left hook to the body and a left hook to the head behind it. Ryder tried to start to get a bit rougher on the inside, muscling in, using his head a bit and trying to find space for uppercuts. Alvarez responded with more hard body shots before throwing right hands to the face, mostly landing to Ryder's already damaged and bleeding nose. Again, Alvarez drove his left into Ryder's ribs before a right hand upstairs. Ryder survived another round but with a strong feeling that the stoppage was a matter of when, not if. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (40-36)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:35 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 3: Ryder popped off a few shots before an Alvarez right hand caused blood to begin to pour from Ryder's nose. Alvarez continued to land hard right hands but Ryder tried to fire back. Alvarez again dug a left to the body. Alvarez cut off the already small ring, putting Ryder along the ropes, though Ryder did land a solid chopping left hand. Alvarez continued to bomb away with the right hand, which seemed to begin to bother Ryder late in the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (30-27)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:30 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 2: Alvarez landed a big overhand right in the opening moments. After a jab, Alvarez dropped the right hand to the body. Alvarez again landed the right hand, seemingly content to use that tool months after having had surgery on his left hand and wrist. Alvarez again landed the left hook to the body. Ryder got in with a left uppercut to keep Alvarez a bit honest. Alvarez landed a few more punches to the body late. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez (20-18)

[May 6, 2023 at 11:27 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. John Ryder -- Round 1: Both righters postured as the fight started, looking to get a feel for the timing and distance. Ryder tried to charge forward and throw a combination but Alvarez took the shots on his arms. Ryder bullied Alvarez into the ropes, throwing some short punches before backing off. Alvarez threw a hook to the body that landed as he just patiently looked to figure out Ryder's approach. Alvarez threw two jabs and a right hand. Alvarez again dug to the body with a left hook. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez

[May 6, 2023 at 11:17 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

An amazing ring walk for Alvarez, who was played to the ring by a 150-piece mariachi band before a major firework display.

[May 6, 2023 at 11:08 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Ryder and Alvarez have begun their ring walks. We're minutes away from the start of this undisputed super middleweight title bout.