LAS VEGAS _ His defining, captivating showing behind him, Canelo Alvarez breathed in the satisfaction of delivering Gennady Golovkin his first defeat and all that meant.
By forcing the man who terrorized the division for more than half a decade to retreat, by punching through the cloud that accompanies a positive drug test and by silencing critics with a heartfelt performance, Alvarez won more than two middleweight belts Saturday.
"I did everything we could to complete our objective. All the work we did paid off in the ring ..." the Mexican fighter said following the triumph at T-Mobile Arena.
Pursuing Golovkin and tiring the dominant power puncher _ whose conditioning and strength built in Big Bear training had resulted in a record-tying 20 consecutive middleweight title fights without a loss _ "was my plan from the beginning," Alvarez said. "I wanted the knockout, but ... I'm satisfied with the victory and how we did it today.
"We analyzed it, and we did it. This is a very important victory for me and my country, and it will bring a lot of pride to my country."
The majority-decision margin was razor-thin, decided only by Alvarez (50-1-2) convincing judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld that he won the 12th round. They scored the bout at 115-113; judge Glenn Feldman saw the bout even at 114-114.
By producing 24 rounds of skilled, intense fighting _ including last year's draw _ without either man hitting the canvas, Alvarez and Golovkin seem destined for a trilogy fight. The question that will loom into next year is when?
Golovkin said a third meeting is absolutely necessary considering a middleweight landscape that offers alternative foes _ Billy Joe Saunders, Jermall Charlo, Daniel Jacobs _ who come nowhere near the drawing power of this rivalry.
"I think yes," Golovkin told the Los Angeles Times as he exited his locker room. "If you have a good business plan, of course. This is a great fight. Congrats to Canelo. Today, he's champion. I'll come back."
After out-landing Alvarez in eight of 12 rounds and 234-202 in overall punches, Golovkin, who required eight stitches over one eye, said he wasn't as bothered by the scoring as he was last time.
"I'm not very upset. We had a great fight today. I did my job. I controlled all the rounds. It was not my problem, it was the judges', you know. I feel inside like I'm still champion."
Alvarez acknowledged "we'll do it again" in the ring, but as the soreness of Saturday's session soaked in later in the night, he turned his head and delivered an expression that looked like "maybe" when asked if there'll be a third fight.
"Obviously, 'Triple-G's camp is going to want it, but we have to be real here: They both just survived a devastating war," Alvarez promoter Oscar De La Hoya told The Times. "They're tired, and it'd be silly to match them up back-to-back-to-back again. Canelo's going to go down his own path to super-stardom. This fight took him there. 'Triple-G' has to regroup himself, get a couple more wins, maybe, until we do it again."
De La Hoya was thrilled by the fact the bout fulfilled the hype and allowed him to live vicariously through his star fighter nearly 20 years after the lament of De La Hoya retreating from Felix Trinidad in the final three rounds and losing their historic bout.
"Great fight, and Canelo was the aggressor, so does that mean that 'Triple-G' was running?" De La Hoya asked after Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez criticized Alvarez for fighting in reverse in the first meeting. "Canelo was using the body shots ... I knew 'Triple-G' wouldn't like getting hit in the body.
"Canelo executed this fight perfectly. He closed the show. And boxing needed this energy boost. It got a shot in the arm today, for sure."
Fitting words, perhaps, considering Golovkin's pre-fight claims that Alvarez was a dirty fighter _ a cheater _ following his positive February tests for the banned stamina-building substance clenbuterol he said he accidentally ingested through eating Mexican beef.
Margaret Goodman, head of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Assn. that collected Alvarez's positive samples in the first place, said he submitted more than 20 follow-up blood and urine samples from February on, saying the process made Saturday "a wonderful event" for the sport.
And Sanchez, who'd spent the last year as Alvarez's most vocal critic, admitted part of his criticism was intended to bring Alvarez forward and create the kind of action that would leave Alvarez exposed to Golovkin's best punches. Alvarez absorbed those, took the fight back to Golovkin and took away his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn. belts, too.
"I caused this," Sanchez said.
