Akron Stadium, Mexico - WBO, IBF, WBA, WBC super middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) secured a hard-fought twelve round unanimous decision over mandatory challenger John Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs).

The scores were 120-107, 118-109 and 118-109.

Ryder was a game challenger, as for most of the contest he was dealing with a badly broken nose that was bleeding heavily for several rounds. He was dropped in the fifth round, when Canelo connected with a two-punch combination, and appeared to be on the verge of getting stopped, but he managed to weather the storm and remained competitive for much of the contest.

Canelo controlled the action and outlanding Ryder for much of the fight.