John Ryder never arrived at their post-fight press conference Saturday night after his ninth-round, technical-knockout loss to Jaime Munguia.

An Arizona commission physician recommended Ryder remain in his dressing room, rather than answering questions from the media. The brutalized British southpaw was knocked down four times and understandably needed some time to recuperate from his physically taxing defeat.

Eddie Hearn, Ryder’s promoter, represented him at the press conference and acknowledged that the longtime contender’s TKO loss to Munguia might mark the end of his 13-year professional career. London’s Ryder, 35, lost by TKO for just the second time in 39 professional fights, but he has made a lot of money the past few years, particularly for his losses to undisputed super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez and Munguia in his last two fights.

“I think it’s always difficult straight after a fight,” Hearn said. “But I think having reached the heights that he’s reached, particularly the Canelo Alvarez fight and the Jaime Munguia fight, I think there is a chance that could be the end of the road for him. You know, we really believed he could win tonight. He really believed he [could win] as well.”

The younger, stronger Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) entered the ring as at least a 5-1 favorite, according to most sportsbooks. The former WBO junior middleweight champion’s strong start validated those odds.

Munguia, 27, dropped Ryder once apiece in the second and fourth rounds. Ryder rallied during the sixth and seventh rounds, yet Munguia regained control of their fight and eventually sent Ryder to the canvas twice more during the ninth round.

Tony Sims, Ryder’s trainer, stepped up on the ring apron after the second ninth-round knockdown and asked referee Wes Melton to stop their scheduled 12-round, 168-pound bout. The official time of the stoppage was 1:25 of the ninth round.

“I think, you know, the start was a bit of a nightmare,” Hearn said. “The fourth round wasn’t really a knockdown, but you had to score it a knockdown. And obviously, having two knockdowns in the first four rounds was very difficult for him. But beaten by the younger, fresher man. So, a decision to make, for sure.”

Ryder (32-7, 18 KOs) lost by TKO for the first time since England’s Nick Blackwell staggered and stopped him in the seventh round of their May 2015 fight at O2 Arena in London. Ryder was also still on his feet when Blackwell beat him, but he hadn’t been knocked down.

This loss took more out of him, in part because Ryder is eight years older than when he lost to Blackwell. Ryder lost each of the first eight rounds Saturday night according to judge Dennis O’Connell (80-70), but judges Javier Camacho (78-72) and Kevin Parker (78-72) scored two rounds apiece for Ryder.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.