Canelo Alvarez handed Edgar Berlanga a first career defeat as he won a unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Judges Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld scored it 118-109, David Sutherland 117-110, all in favour of Mexican superstar Alvarez.
Alvarez defended his WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight world titles (the IBF belt is now vacant).
Alvarez hasn’t won inside the distance since he became the undisputed champion at 168lbs when he halted Caleb Plant in 2021 but he did drop Berlanga early in the fight, putting the Puerto Rican challenger over in just the third round.
Berlanga continued to take punishment throughout the fight but gamely saw it out until the final bell.
“I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican man,” Alvarez said afterwards. “It means a lot to fight on this day [Mexican Independence weekend]. It’s an honour to represent my country on this day.
“We are warriors and we never give up. I’m going to rest and then I’m going to decide what’s next.”
He defended his performance, saying: “I did good. Now what are they going to say? They said I don’t fight young fighters.
“They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Berlanga said: “I’m upset because at the end of the day I’m a winner.
“I fought a legend tonight and did my best to represent Puerto Rico. We’re fighters and we try to throw our opponent off their game. I took his best shot and I knew I could take his punches and return them. I could have jabbed a lot more, but I was in there with a legend.”
On the undercard Erislandy Lara defended his WBA middleweight title when he forced a stoppage at the end of his ninth round with Danny Garcia.
At 41 Lara is boxing’s oldest active world champion but Garcia, a career super-lightweight and welterweight, was having his first bout in over two years.
“I felt that I boxed beautifully,” Lara said. “It was a work of art, like a Picasso. I negated everything Danny had. He’s a great fighter and a Hall of Famer just like me. I used lateral movement with a long jab to land my big shots, just like you learn at the Cuban school of boxing.
“The punches I was landing were hurting him,” he added. “That punch that ended the fight was a big shot.”
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with Daniel Dubois takes place on Saturday September 21 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Joshua v Dubois now!
