JOHN RYDER confirmed he suffered a broken nose against Canelo Alvarez but bravely boxed on to hear the final bell.
The Londoner travelled to Guadalajara to be in the opposite corner of Canelo’s Mexican homecoming.
But he was unable to upset the applecart in his challenge for the undisputed WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO world titles.
Ryder suffered a busted nose in the opening stages of the fight and was floored in round five with a right hand but survived to tell the tale.
He told Matchroom Boxing: “After all these years of boxing, it’s the first time I broke my nose.
“It was a new experience. Got back to my corner, towel in my face, just couldn’t breathe. There was blood going back down my throat.
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“It was a new experience but obviously I’ve got a good calming corner, calmed me down.
“And then after that, it was just hard to sit down and get my breathing. So I was standing up throughout the rounds.
“Like I said, new experience, I felt I won the first two rounds quite well. I was boxing sensibly.
“Then I just got careless in the last second, leaned forward, and took that big uppercut.”
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Fans hailed Ryder for his gallant effort in Canelo’s backyard.
One said: “What a tough man. He deserves every penny.”
Another added: “Heart! Could have gave up or stayed down after the knockdowns. Not in his blood! Earned a fan in me.”
Ryder, 34, became the EIGHTH Brit to lose to Canelo, 32, and gave his respect to the pound-for-pound star following defeat.
He said: “Listen, I always thought he was very good. He’s good, he sets traps, he’s there.
“Even when you think you’re having success – which I was in the first couple of rounds – you could see that he was downloading information to stick it on in the later rounds and set the traps.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
