The two hundred and first mariachi at the Canelo Vs Ryder Fight was a Griffin!

Mike Griffin-The Third Man in the Ring, refereeing the Canelo Vs Ryder mega fight at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Jalisco in The King Coming Home Cinco de Mayo Festivities, came along to the weekly World Boxing Council’s  Martes a Cafe, this time held in the sumptuous and elegant Sports and Chips in Mexico City.

Mike was accompanied by that eye catching Mexican cravat, he wore on the big Cinco De Mayo Festivity night on May 6th, quipping that there were at least two hundred mariachis belting away, so he decided to be mariachi number two hundred and one!  Before, during and after the fight, Mike sported a rather wild Albert Einstein hairstyle, admitting that he hadn`t taken into account the rather wild and windy conditions outdoors.

Of course, a griffin is a mythical creature which has the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. But… for this fight, Mike`s appearance was rakish and sartorial, rather then outright outlandish.

Mike`s as close as it gets assessment was: “These were two determined guys. John Ryder didn`t come there to just show up. He went into the ring intending to beat Canelo, who is the best fighter alive today, so that was a tall order for John. It turned out to mostly one sided. John` nose was broken early and that might have changed his fight plan a bit. He`s a guy who likes to go forward. We were in a very small sixteen foot ring, which we didn`t really need because both these guys have one direction they move in! They pretty much stayed in the pocket.

“It was a punishing fight. Ryder kept finding something after he got hurt. There was the big knock down in the fifth. When he initially went down, I thought that might be it. This was one of those delayed reactions where he got hit hard and then a second later, his legs went. That is usually an indication that a guy is badly hurt.  However, he did recover extremely quickly. He was on one knee, we were eye to eye and I could see that he`d recovered his faculties.

“He was listening to my count, he was hearing the numbers, I expected him to get up at eight and he did.  I`d asked him for one sign agreed in the dressing room prior to this eventuality, and the reason is that I wanted to see if recalled what he was told two hours ago. That gives me a good sense that he knows exactly where he is The agreed sign is that I wanted him to pick his hands up. He did it, which showed he recalled what he had been told. So now I realized that he had full control of his faculties. His motor skills still were`nt perfect, but he was OK to intelligently defend himself, which is what you`re looking for. And he came back, with punches himself in that round, landing some good shots.”

John Ryder has gone on the record praising Canelo as a great fighter, but past his best and his prime. Mike sees it a tad differently, explaining: “I think at the place Canelo is in his life, it`s very difficult to keep the same intensity, because of all that he has accomplished and where he is, and (smiles) how good his golf game is, playing scratch golf. But, I certainly believe that he`s the best fighter alive today. I think that`s true…but, in the words of Marvin Hagler, when you`re sleeping in silk sheets, it`s hard to get up and run in the morning.

“Also, Canelo turned pro at fifteen. He`s been doing this for almost twenty years. It`s hard to keep that edge, sharpness and hunger. But, he`s still a very competitive guy. In that twelfth round he was talking to John, urging him LET`S GO, LET`S GO!  He was looking to open up and close the show in a big way. It`s the in between times. The events are bigger and they`re further apart. All the greats including Muhammad Ali had trouble in staying focused after huge successes involving twenty years on top.”