Islington born super-middleweight John Ryder gets a homecoming show against American Daniel Jacobs at Alexandra Palace this Saturday, the bout will be Ryder’s first on British soil since he was beaten by Callum Smith in Liverpool in November 2019.
Intercontinental Title fight on the Undercard
A fellow Londoner, Ellie Scotney, will be competing against Jorgelina Guanini for the vacant WBA intercontinental belt on the undercard of the Ryder fight, in what will be just her fourth bout as a professional.
The Lewisham fighter has victories over Bec Connolly, Mailys Gangloff and Eva Cantos under her belt and now faces Argentinian Guanini, who sports a record of nine wins, three losses and two draws.
Scotney is 1/40 to pick up a fourth win and take the vacant belt, with the underdog Guanini a 35/4 shot and the draw in at 25/1.
Unbeaten Cash Looking to Prove European Title Credentials
Felix Cash, the current British middleweight title holder, puts his unbeaten record on the line against Russian Magomed Madiev in another of the undercard highlights.
The British fighter has spoken of his desire to earn a European title shot with a big win here against the unbeaten Madiev, who has a record of 15 wins and two draws.
Cash is 1/25 to get the victory and Madiev is 31/4 with the draw in at 28/1.
Hometown Hero Looking for Redemption
Hometown boy Ryder faces a tight encounter in his headline clash with Jacobs.
Ryder comes into this bout with a record of 30 wins and five defeats, with his most recent fight seeing him claim a knockout victory over Jozef Jurko in Austria in September last year.
Previously Ryder had beaten Bilal Akkawy to win the WBA interim super-middleweight title before clashing with Callum Smith for the WBA and The Ring titles.
The Liverpudlian came out a unanimous decision winner in that encounter and now Ryder is looking to bounce back to compete at the top level.
Miracle Man a Lively Contender
Jacobs, otherwise known as Miracle Man after overcoming cancer to return to the ring, has a live chance of upsetting the party with a victory.
The American has a record of 37 wins and just three losses, with his defeats coming against Dmitry Pirog, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez respectively.
Losing to those men is nothing to be ashamed of and Jacobs is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the IBF crown from 2018 to 2019 and the WBA title from 2014 to 2017.
His most recent fight came in November 2020, a split decision win over Gabriel Rosado. It will be Jacons’ first time ever fighting in the United Kingdom.
Jacobs to Edge Close Encounter
Jacobs is a legitimate threat to most fighters in the middleweight division and the strong all-rounder could upset the homecoming party for Ryder.
If the American can shake off his ring rust, he could prove to be a value bet at 10/17, Ryder is priced up at 5/4 and the draw is 16/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing