John "The Gorilla" Ryder

So what exactly is his ceiling, now he's @ SMW?

At middle he was "best of the rest" domestically behind the likes of Saunders & Eubank when they were all on the come-up, himself probably "Euro level" in the sense that he could have conceivably snatched himself an EBU title, provided it was the average sort of holder of those and not a world class fellow stopping on his way to greener pastures - although he just happens to have not opted for that route. Now that Liam Williams is the clear #1 in the UK at 160lbs, it does feel like we just about missed out seeing a potential all-time classic, with Ryder now having been settled into 168 for a couple of years and unlikely ever make the MW limit again. C'est la vie.

The landscape within the Isles currently has a clear bisection - and Ryder himself is that fault-line cleaving the crust of earth. Above him are his betters - BJS (already proven h2h), CEJ (based on common opposition h2h performance analysis, but less of a given than BJS to be sure), and Mundo Smith (don't get me wrong, it wouldn't be a sure thing, and I'd be rooting like hell for Ryder, but ...he's up against it, there, and clearly an underdog) ...and below him are the rabble who oughtn't ever be within sniffing distance of a world title: Fielding (yes, I realize he does hold a W over Ryder, but a. that was a horrific robbery; both @CST80 and @PinoyProdigy scored it 117-111 for Ryder and b. since then Fielding's already porcelain chin has been devastated further into microscopic smithereens by Canelo; zero doubt in any rational observer's mind that Rocky would get brutally KTFO in a rematch w/ the Gorilla), Heffron, Brophy, etc.

So he's sort of in the same boat he was in at middle - not the best in his country, and probably without a path to become so...but clearly up there, and with his chin and power you'd have to figure anyone, even world rated contenders, would be in for a hell of a rough night with him.

Also, who isn't a fan of this guy? And how/why? The way he fights is pure, ornery, pugnacious heart.

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

I suppose hope isn't completely lost as far as Williams vs. Ryder goes; Liam has been all over the scale in recent years, ballooning from light middle to light heavy... this could theoretically be made, at super middle, at some point in the near future..

 

Also (have probably had too much coffee today, as I completely blanked on the fact that my original reason for making a thread was this ) - how does everyone think last night's Ryder vs. originally scheduled opponent David Lemieux would have gone? Certainly the Canadian wasn't going to crumble as fast as Bilal Akkawy, but would he suffer the same fate a few rounds later? Or would his own ham-hocks prove the heavier and more damaging in what certainly would be a brutal war of attrition?

 

Like a year ago, yeah - I think it was supposed to be on the Groves vs. Smith tourney finals card?