Boxing Challenge: Canelo decisions Ryder, Hamburglar visits Russia.

    Arguably boxing's biggest star returned to the ring after a nine-month absence and did so in his home country for the first time in several years as the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez retained his four titles with a unanimous decision victory over John Ryder in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Alvarez dominated the entire fight and knocked Ryder down with a right hand along the ropes in the fifth round but was unable to finish the rugged but outgunned Englishman.

Alvarez won on all three scorecards going away by scores of 120-108 and 118-11 x2, the latter of which was the same as my score.

Ryder's nose bled badly throughout the fight but other than after the fight's sole knockdown, Ryder was never seriously hurt by Alvarez.

However, that didn't mean that Ryder didn't take a pounding from Alvarez as he definitely took one.

Alvarez announced after the win that he intended to pursue a rematch vs WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who defeated him via unanimous decision in 2022.

From what I've seen from Canelo since the Bivol loss in wins over Gennady Golovkin and Ryder, I'm dubious of his chances in a rematch.

Alvarez is still among the best fighters in the sport but he does appear to have lost a half-step from his peak and he might be better suited to the challenges of David Benavidez or David Morrell in his own yard rather than try again to move up to try and catch the mobile Bivol.

In two other bouts that I have not watched yet on the Alvarez-Ryder card:

Julio Cesar Martinez retained his WBC flyweight title with an eleventh-round stoppage on Ronel Batista and former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk stopped Ricards Bolotniks in six rounds.

Two times in recent months, undefeated fighters have left Eddie Hearn's Matchroom promotion in order to sign contracts with Boxxer promotions and their carrier Sky Sports.

And for the second time in a row, those fighters have notched victories after leaving but left observers bored with their bouts and unimpressed with their performances.

First, it was WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie's boring decision win over David Light in March and now it's light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi, who won a dull unanimous decision over unbeaten and unknown Pawel Stepien of Poland in Birmingham England.

The fight could be best summed up as such; Stepien was not interested in taking any chances on offense and Buatsi was content to control the fight without any type of effort to end it.

Scores all for the former Olympic bronze medalist at 100-90, 98-92, and 97-94.

My scorecard was 99-91 for Buatsi, who will be the next mandatory contender for WBA champion Dmitry Bivol eventually but will have to show far more aggressiveness in that title attempt than he has expended in his last few bouts.

The Hamburglar arrived in Russia for the theft of the week as junior middleweight contenders Magomed Kurbanov and Michel Soro squared off in a title eliminator.

Kurbanov had three solid wins in his recent fights, a close decision that many thought Smith deserved (I scored Kurbanov a 115-113 winner), and wins over unbeaten Johan Gonzalez and former WBO champion Patrick Teixeira stamped him as the favorite over Soro, who had been controversially stopped by another top contender in Israil Madrimov, when a badly hurt Soro was nailed by multiple solid blows after the bell rang and the referee allowed Madrimov to continue to punch away.

The loss stood officially but the WBA ordered a rematch and in the third round, a vicious clash of heads forced a stoppage and a resulting no contest.

The WBA ordered a third fight but Madrimov had no interest in a third fight after being on his way to winning the first two bouts and having hi-jinks ensue, so Soro accepted a Kurbanov fight in a WBA eliminator.

So of course, in the first round, the two connected their heads with Kurbanov emerging with a long jagged cut over his left eye that bled profusely throughout the fight, and later in the fight, Soro opened another cut near the left eye, this one from a punch.

Soro moved forward and backed the counterpunching Kurbanov for most of the bout and controlled the second half of the fight and while I gave Kurbanov the final round, it was the only round that I gave him after the fourth round.

The judges' cards read 115-113 Soro (close to my 116-112 Soro card), 115-113 (Kurbanov, which maybe you could get to IF you gave every competitive round to Kurbanov), and a nutty 116-112 card for Kurbanov resulting in the home fighter getting the split decision win.

I would hope for a rematch but I'm doubtful one occurs unless ordered by the WBA.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 75 Pts (7)

Ramon Malpica:70 Pts (7)

Vince Samano:56 Pts (1)

Boxing Challenge: Beterbiev rolls over Browne

    Artur Beterbiev survived a vicious cut to his forehead from a fourth-round double headbutt and stalked Marcus Browne like a hunter stalking a fleet antelope in finishing the former Olympian in the ninth round and kept his WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles in Montreal, Canada.

Browne had won the first two rounds easily on my card and the third as well, although the third was close before the clash of heads that left Beterbiev with the worse of the cuts although Browne retreated with a cut alongside his right eye for the remainder of the fight.

One could instantly see Beterbiev processing the situation as the blood spurted from his gash and the fight could go to the scorecards once the fourth round (the one that the fight was currently in) and almost certainly would go to Browne at that point, costing Beterbiev his titles.

Beterbiev then immediately shifted into tank mode to finish the round but still at best if the fight was stopped then and there, Beterbiev would have a draw (and he trailed on the cards and would have lost under those conditions).

Before the fifth, the doctor entered the ring, checked both fighters, and told them one more round would be all that given.

That didn't turn out to be the case as Beterbiev was winning each round so decisively that stopping the fight would have been ridiculous and when Beterbiev sent Browne to his knees in the seventh after a left to the body followed by a right hand, the fight was essentially over as Browne's early scorecard edge was now erased.

Beterbiev continued to punish Browne in the eighth and finished in the ninth as he alternated between headshots and punishing the body before a left uppercut sent Browne to his knees where he took the ten count.

Beterbiev led 77-74 on my card after eight rounds.

For Beterbiev, I don't see anyone stopping him in the near future.

Canelo Alvarez does have the boxing skills to perhaps bother Beterbiev but can he handle what could be a more relentless bigger punching Gennady Golovkin for twelve rounds?

WBA champion Dmitry Bivol also has the boxing skills but in recent fights has seemed reluctant to engage against second-tier fighters, let alone a Beterbiev.

Will twelve rounds of running be rewarded on the scorecards?

WBO champion Joe Smith might make a fun fight between two huge punchers but unless Smith lands the home run bomb first, I don't think he stands up against this attack.

Gilberto Ramirez and Callum Smith are rangy fighters but naturally smaller in weight (remember Beterbiev was a heavyweight in the amateurs, losing a close decision in Olympic action to Oleksandr Usyk) and I am dubious that either can hold Beterbiev off any better than Browne did.

Beterbiev is the best light heavyweight in the world without a doubt and I'm hoping that he can be more active in 2022.

In Uzbekistan, another wacky boxing incident occurred as Ismail Madrimov stopped Michel Soro in the ninth round to win his WBA junior middleweight eliminator and would become the mandatory challenger in the organization- BUT maybe not.

Madrimov had Soro badly hurt near the end of the round but the bell rang.

Referee Salvador Rodriguez stood there like a bump on a log as my aunt used to say and watched Madrimov land between seven and ten shots on a stunned Soro before jumping in and awarding the fight to Madrimov!

Chaos ensued for ten minutes while the issue was decided for Madrimov by stoppage but I'd be surprised if this stands and will likely be changed to a no-contest, and if it does stand as a win, I think the WBA will order a rematch between the two before a title shot against the Charlo-Castano winner.

I would have had Madrimov ahead by one point had the ninth round been scored and Madrimov was beginning to take command but still fair is fair and this should be ruled a no-contest.