Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has retained his unified super middleweight world title with a punishing unanimous decision over Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas.

Alvarez knocked down the previously unbeaten Berlanga in the third and was relentless throughout the 12 rounds on Saturday night. The champion rocked Berlanga with a big right in the waning seconds of the ninth round and Berlanga’s cornerman could be heard asking his fighter: “Are you awake?”, as he sat on his stool before the 10th.

Berlanga, who was warned for an intentional head butt, remained defiant, taunting Alvarez as they came out for the 12th. But the Puerto Rican-American, who launched his pro career with 16 straight first-round knockouts, could not find the stoppage he had brashly predicted.

The vastly experienced Alvarez put him under pressure early, Berlanga looking tentative in the opening two rounds as he was backed repeatedly into the corner. He tried gamely to respond in the third after Alvarez landed a right to the head, but a devastating left hook from Alvarez sent him down. Berlanga banged his gloves together as he sat on the canvas and hopped up quickly.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, left, receives a right jab from John Ryder [Henry Romero

Berlanga had no answer as Alvarez went after him with debilitating body blows round after round. “I did good,” said Alvarez, who was awarded the fight by a score of 118-109 by two judges and by 117-110 from the third. “Now what are they going to say? I fight younger fighters? Before they say I fought older fighters. Now what are they going to say? They always talk.

“I’m the best fighter in the world,” added Alvarez, who improved to 62-2-2 (39 KOs) and retained his World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization belts.

Alvarez bounces back

Alvarez was stripped of his International Boxing Federation belt in July when he opted to take on Berlanga rather than IBF mandatory challenger William Scull. That was immaterial to the partisan crowd of more than 20,000 at T-Mobile Arena, where Alvarez claimed another victory on Mexican Independence Day weekend – a holiday he made his own along with Cinco de Mayo.

“It means a lot,” Alvarez said. “It’s an honor for me to represent my country on this day. I feel proud about it.”

Berlanga, 27, fell to 22-1. As the final bell sounded, the fighters embraced in an extended hug. “I was telling him that he’s my idol,” Berlanga said. “Since I was a kid, I looked up to him.”

John Ryder is knocked down by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Reuters [Henry Romero/Reuters]

It was the fifth straight points victory for Alvarez, whose last win inside the distance was an 11th-round knockout of Caleb Plant in November 2021. But it was the fourth consecutive fight in which Alvarez scored a knockdown.

The four-division champion, who has been accused of ducking rising star David Benavidez, said he would take some time to ponder what is next for him. “I’m going to rest with my family now and then I’m going to decide,” he said.

On the undercard, Erislandy Lara retained his WBA middleweight world title with a ninth-round stoppage of Danny Garcia. The slow pace of the bout drew boos from the crowd, but 41-year-old Cuban-born southpaw Erislandy connected with a straight left that dropped Garcia to a knee late in the ninth.

When the round ended, Garcia’s father and coach Angel called for the bout to be halted. “I took him to school,” said Lara, who improved to 31-3-3 with 19 knockouts. Garcia, fighting for the first time since July 2022, fell to 37-4 with 21 wins inside the distance.