After more than 13 years in the game, super middleweight veteran John Ryder is hanging up the gloves at age 35.
Ryder started his career 15-0 before falling just short against Billy Joe Saunders in what would later become a trend. A later 4-3 skid saw him stopped standing by Nick Blackwell before losing decisions to Jack Arnfield (fair) and Rocky Fielding (not so much), but a four-fight knockout streak left him hotter than ever.
Then came the most infamous night of his career, where virtually every viewer save the three judges saw him outclass and bully Callum Smith.
Undaunted, Ryder once again put together a four-fight winning streak, scraping past Daniel Jacobs and beating Zach Parker via injury stoppage to earn a crack at undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. Despite going down in the fifth and struggling to make any headway, Ryder still showed impressive grit down the stretch in defeat.
His efforts were enough to set up a make-or-break showdown with Jaime Munguia, but despite once again refusing to stay down, Ryder just could not stand up to the younger man’s power.
It was a career to be proud of, and though he was robbed of claiming a true world title, his resilience in the face of adversity is to be lauded. Per his statement linked above, he’ll be starting a new career as a coach at Matchroom Gym “very shortly.” Best of luck and thanks for everything.