Alvarez sees off Golovkin to retain undisputed super-middleweight crown

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez retained his undisputed super-middleweight world title on Saturday, seeing off Gennady Golovkin to complete their epic fight trilogy in Las Vegas.

Mexico's Alvarez was in charge for most of 12 rounds at an electric T-Mobile Arena, winning a unanimous decision to spark wild scenes of celebration among the Mexican fans who made up most of the sell-out crowd.

One judge scored the bout 116-112 while the two others saw it 115-113 for Alvarez, who took control early and continued to cruise even as Golovkin stepped it up in the late rounds.

"Thank you so much, my friend," Alvarez said to Golovkin in the ring after a bout whose build-up was marked by some bitter rhetoric. "We gave the fans three good fights. Thank you for everything."

It was a welcome return to form for Alvarez, who suffered the second defeat of his career earlier this year after moving up to light-heavyweight to face Dmitry Bivol.

"You have to continue to move forward," he said. "I have shown that defeats can show you can be great and you can regain your humility.

"He is a good fighter, a real fighter," he added of Golovkin. "I am glad to share the ring with him."

This return to 168 pounds clearly suited Alvarez, but Golovkin was left to rue a leaden start in which he only sparked into life when it was too late.

"It was a tactical mistake on my part to start slow, but we wanted to see how the fight was going to develop," Golovkin said. "I think we both started slowly."

Alvarez improved to 58-2-2 with 39 knockouts, but he said he knew in the first round he wouldn't get the KO he said he said before the bout he craved.

"First round, I knew he’s tough," Alvarez said. "He's a tough fighter. I need surgery, my left hand is not good. But I'm good, I'm a