Rhodes should carry on despite Alvarez defeat

Boxers are notorious for their stubborn refusal to call it quits. There’s always one more fight. One more shot at redemption. One more opportunity to prove to the doubters – and perhaps even to themselves – that they can still compete at the level they’ve become accustomed to.

The latest fighter having to justify his future in the sport is Ryan Rhodes. After a comprehensive defeat by Saul Alvarez in Mexico on Sunday morning, the 34-year-old Sheffield warrior has faced inevitable calls to retire.

Rhodes lost every minute of every round before finally succumbing to Alvarez’s power in the twelfth. For his fans, who had approached the fight with genuine hope that Rhodes’ experience would cause an upset, it was painful viewing. Their subsequent pleas for Rhodes to walk away are borne out of genuine concern for his health.

But are we being too hasty to write off this extraordinary fighter?

Let’s put Sunday into some kind of perspective. Most importantly, we learnt that 20-year-old Alvarez is a special talent. This has been a year of upsets. Unbeaten prospects such as David Lemieux and James Kirkland have floundered just as TV networks looked set to give them their big push. They’ve since faced scorn that their records were padded by promoters eager to keep that most over-rated of boxing commodities; an unblemished record.

That’s not a charge that can be aimed at Alvarez. Despite his tender years he has an astonishing 35 fights on his record already. His backers, Oscar de la Hoya’s highly influential Golden Boy Promotions, have matched him hard at the right time. His last two fights, versus Britons Matthew Hatton and Rhodes, have been a significant step up in class. Alvarez has responded magnificently.

In an age where fighters are hyped too quickly, there can be few doubts that this young Mexican has an enormous future in the sport.

It is also worth remembering that Saturday’s defeat was Rhodes’ first in five years. Pre-Alvarez he had produced some of the most spectacular performances of his career. He still has the skill and the experience to be a major player on both the European and domestic scene.

This is not a fighter in decline.

This is not an ageing fighter on the slide.

This is a very good fighter who took on a truly exceptional one, in his own back yard, and lost.

There is no shame in that.

Ralph Welch

@ralphwelch