LAS VEGAS — Boxing’s greatest star Canelo Alvarez retained his super middleweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Alvarez floored Berlanga in round 3 with a monster left hook — his best punch — and won by scores of 117-110, 118-109, 118-109. ESPN scored the fight a 120-107 shutout.

It was the fifth straight points win for Alvarez, who hasn’t scored a knockout victory since beating Caleb Plant in November 2021. It also marks the fourth straight bout in which Alvarez scored a knockdown.

“What are they going to say now?” Alvarez, 34, said during his post-fight interview. “I’m fighting younger fighters. They say I’m fighting older fighters. They always talk. … My experience, my talent, my hard work, my intelligence, everything together (makes me the best). If you have talent but no discipline, you have nothing.”

Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter, is an all-time great. Berlanga, meanwhile, was fighting at the world-class level for the first time. Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) was a -1600 favorite, according to ESPN BET, and a -250 favorite to take the win inside the distance.

Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs), however, rarely threw a power punch, clearly wary of presenting a counter-punching opportunity for one of the sport’s best to capitalize on such openings. After the knockdown, as Berlanga sat on the canvas, banging his gloves together, he went into survival mode.

Alvarez pressed on, trying to close the distance as Berlanga pumped his jab from out of range. And while Berlanga was solid inside and showed some toughness, he clearly wasn’t willing to give up and risk becoming a knockout victim.

“I’m upset,” Berlanga said. “I fought a legend tonight. Hopefully this is the beginning of me becoming a legend. … I took his best shot, I think, in the third round.”

The Puerto Rican-born Brooklynite began his career with 16 first-round knockouts, but his power disappeared when he stepped up to compete. Berlanga, 27, entered his first title fight following a sixth-round knockout win over Padraig McCrory in February.

Alvarez is of course a few levels above such an opponent, and his wealth of experience was clearly visible. He was the far more comfortable fighter, although he did at times become frustrated by Berlanga’s rough tactics, as referee Harvey Dock warned the pair on several occasions.

“Fighters like to throw each other off,” Berlanga said.

Alvarez was once again headlining Mexico’s Independence Day weekend, one of two boxing holidays reserved for the sport’s biggest attraction. And he wasn’t ready to discuss who he wants to face when he eventually returns for Cinco De Mayo weekend.

In the lead-up to the bout, Alvarez told ESPN on Wednesday that he was interested in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol, who defeated him in May 2022 at 175 pounds. That’s on the condition that Bivol defeats Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight championship on Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Another option was ringside: Terence Crawford, the future Hall of Famer who remains undefeated. He made his 154-pound debut last month with a win over Israil Madrimov and told ESPN on Thursday that he would like to fight Alvarez at the full 168-pound limit without a rehydration clause.

“I think it would make it clear to the No. 1 fighter of this era, after Mayweather, who the king of kings is,” Crawford said.

Whoever Alvarez fights next, he’ll still be looking for his first knockout win since November 2021, even though he hasn’t lost many rounds so far.

Alvarez said, “I’m the best fighter in the world.”