New WBO interim super middleweight champion John Ryder pushed towards a shot at Canelo Alvarez on May 6th with a stoppage win over Zach Parker.
The better of the two fighters over four rounds, Ryder troubled Parker before the bell went to end the session. Parker then pulled out of the fight through injury.
John Ryder wins
Parker’s right hand was confirmed broken as Ryder’s name was declared the winner.
“The Gorilla” is now the hot favorite to be chosen by Canelo Alvarez as a tune-up for the Mexican’s rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
If secured in the coming weeks, Canelo vs Ryder will take place at the MGM Grand or T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After the fight, Ryder said Canelo was the target for Cinco de Mayo. Teams will now work on signing a deal with the WBO setting a deadline for the Britain to get a shot at the full title.
Parker vs Ryder Undercard results
The superb-looking Hamzah Sheeraz destroyed the challenge of River Wilson-Bent in two damaging rounds. Wilson-Bent felt every power shot landed by Sheeraz and looked broken up through one and a half rounds.
An onslaught towards the end of the second round was enough for third man Victor Loughlin to wave off the fight.
Sheeraz now holds the WBC Silver and Commonwealth middleweight straps in his possession.
Sam Noakes impressively dispatched Calvin McCord to claim the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title.
Dropping McCord four times with body shots in the fourth round, Noakes constantly pressured his opponent until the referee stepped in.
Noakes also picked up a fringe version of the WBC title and the ranking that comes with it.
Dennis McCann proved to be a menace for Joe Ham. McCann scored an eighth career stoppage in a fourteenth win as Ham succumbed to pressure in the eighth round.
Irishman Pierce O’Leary secured his 11th pro triumph with a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Mungandjela. The result was never in doubt due to O’Leary putting his opponent down twice in the fight.
Tommy Fletcher kicked off the main action with a superb victory in the first round. A body shot followed by an uppercut did the job and had Jiri Krejci down and wincing.
In the opener, Sonny Liston Ali moved to 5-0 with a points win over Georgi Velichkov at super lightweight.
