Rhodes believes he has the power to trouble unbeaten Alvarez |
Ryan Rhodes has vowed to upset unbeaten Mexican sensation Saul Alvarez in their proposed WBC world title fight in June.
The 34-year-old revealed by email that he will challenge for Alvarez’s super-welterweight belt and said he has the power to defeat the rising star.
Rhodes looks likely to face Alvarez in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 18 June.
And the Sheffield fighter claimed the 20-year-old had shown “plenty of flaws” when beating Ricky Hatton’s brother Matthew earlier this month.
“He makes a lot of mistakes, he’s very erratic and he throws bombs,”
Rhodes lost his three previous world title bids, all at middleweight: a WBO contest with Otis Grant in December 1997; against Jason Matthews for the interim WBO title in July 1999; and a WBU bout against Gary Lockett in July 2006.
But he has won his past 10 fights, the last a second-round TKO of Rocky Junior in December 2010, and is now number four in the WBC super-welterweight rankings.
Though his world title fights were at middleweight, he has spent much of his 16-year career a division below that, at 154 lbs (known as super-welterweight or light-middleweight).
And Rhodes said he still had the power to trouble Alvarez, who is promoted by Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy outfit.
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When I hit him he’s going to feel it and he won’t be walking through all my shots |
Alvarez made his professional debut in 2005, aged 15, and has won 36 of 37 fights, notching 32 consecutive victories since a draw with Jorge Juarez in June 2006.
In his last fight, Alvarez claimed a unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton in a contest fought at a catchweight of 150lbs, four pounds inside the light-middlweight division’s 11-stone limit, after Alvarez tipped the scales at two pounds over the agreed weight.
All three judges scored the bout 119-108, meaning Alvarez won every round on every card, except the seventh which was scored 9-9 after he was docked a point.
“He walked into Matthew with no respect but Matthew boxed absolutely fantastic on the outside,” said Rhodes.
“But when I hit him he’s going to feel it and he won’t be walking through all my shots.”
Rhodes also promised that he wouldn’t be fazed by fighting in Alvarez’s home country, pointing out he had faced Wales’s Gary Lockett at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
“There could be 15, 20 thousand Mexicans screaming outside but at the end of the day it’s going to be me and him in there and we will be fighting it out,” he said.
“I’m mature enough and wise enough now to not let it affect me. As soon as that bell goes my ears are going to be completely shutting off and I’m going to be focused on him 100%.”
Rhodes said Alvarez – nicknamed Canelo, or Cinnamon, due to his red hair – was a “very good fighter” but not exceptional, and believed the Mexican became frustrated in fights.
“When Matthew hit him he was calling him on and I think he gets wound up quite easily,” said Rhodes.
