Eddie Hearn emphasized that Canelo Alvarez almost assuredly, at least as far as he knows, will face Dmitry Bivol and, if Alvarez wins, Gennadiy Golovkin in his next two fights.

That doesn’t mean, according to Hearn, that John Ryder couldn’t eventually get a shot at boxing’s undisputed super middleweight champion at some point. Hearn, whose company promotes the British southpaw, considers Ryder a potential opponent for the Mexican superstar now that Ryder has defeated Daniel Jacobs.

Ryder joined Alvarez and Golovkin on Saturday as the only opponents who have beaten Jacobs over the past 11 years. The 33-year-old Ryder beat Brooklyn’s Jacobs by split decision in their closely contested 12-round WBA super middleweight elimination match at Alexandra Palace in London.

“Yeah, I think, look, Saul obviously wants to fight in the UK,” Hearn said in the ring following the most noteworthy win of Ryder’s career. “He’s got his plans prepared and nearly locked in for this year. But I think if he wants to fight in the UK, he’s got the perfect opponent. You know, I don’t see any other super middleweights in their country have standout victories like that. John Ryder just beat Daniel Jacobs tonight. You know, and it was his attrition that got him through that fight, his desire to win that fight. And he’s been on the end of a lot of bad decisions. Tonight was a very close fight, could’ve gone either way. But it was one that went his way.

“And when you look back at his career, on the times when he might not have got the decision, tonight he deserved the decision. And it’s a massive win for him because [Ryder’s handlers] have put a lot of pressure on us to deliver. We brought Daniel Jacobs to Alexandra Palace tonight. As [trainer] Tony [Sims] says, Daniel Jacobs has lost to Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. But tonight he lost to John Ryder. And, of course, it’s a massive victory for John Ryder and I hope he goes on to fight for a world title, because he really deserves it.”

Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) defeated Jacobs by the same score, 115-113, on two cards in a main event DAZN streamed Saturday night. Jacobs (37-4, 30 KOs) also won 115-113 on one card.

Ryder wouldn’t discuss a potential fight versus Alvarez when it was brought up to him in the ring. His trainer, Tony Sims, loves the idea, though, of the fighter he has trained throughout his career getting a shot at the four-division champion.

“Yeah, I mean, you know, he’s beat a major, major superstar, really, tonight,” Sims said. “And when you look at his resume, like he’s only lost to Golovkin and Canelo. You know, and then John’s beat him tonight. It’s incredible. You know, and John really should be a world champion, really. Do you know what I mean? And he’s beaten major names like that. I’m just hoping Eddie can lure Canelo to the Wembley Stadium now because you know Canelo wants to fight in the UK. And obviously, he hasn’t had an opponent up till now. But he’s got one there in John Ryder.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.