For Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the optimistic view of Saturday night’s victory over Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is pretty clear: He won, retained his linear super middleweight championship and remains, at least as long as David Benavidez is playing at light heavyweight, the undisputed best in the 168-pound division.

So it was against Berlanga in the main event of a PBC on Prime pay-per-view, a fight in which Alvarez once again looked like he was on the verge of falling to defeat but ended up trusting the judges. But, as in his other recent outings against Jermell Charlo, John Ryder and Jaime Munguia, Alvarez continued to land with ruthless efficiency throughout (he landed 49 percent of his power shots), even if he no longer has the extra power to deliver a spectacular finish.

Alvarez made his intentions clear from the start, cornering Berlanga against the ropes and landing a left-right combination in the second round. Berlanga responded with a good uppercut and then another to the belly; Although he was cornered, the Puerto Rican looked comfortable at first.

In the third, with his back to the ropes, Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) sent a trio of strong jabs Canelo’s way, but then Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) landed a perfect left hook that spun Berlanga’s head around and dropped him to the canvas. Berlanga got to his feet, but immediately pounded his fists in frustration and returned to the battle.

In the fourth round, Alvarez cornered Berlanga against the ropes again. He threw a jab to his opponent’s body and landed a right straight upstairs. He then landed a hook and a right upstairs and a hook to his body. Berlanga threw jabs as Canelo stalked him.

Alvarez was the man making the difference in the fight though and in the eighth, after failing to quite connect with a vicious hook, he landed a big right and a strong counter as Berlanga overreached with a right and left himself exposed. And all the while, Alvarez repeatedly pounded Berlanga’s body, landing 49 body shots throughout the fight, compared to just 18 for Berlanga.after failing to quite connect with a vicious hook, he landed a big right and a strong counter as Berlanga overreached with a right and left himself exposed. And all the while, Alvarez repeatedly pounded Berlanga’s body, landing 49 body shots throughout the fight, compared to just 18 for Berlanga.

The ninth was another strong round for Alvarez as it became increasingly clear that Berlanga was not going to open up and risk a stoppage loss in pursuit of a spectacular win. A big right connected for Alvarez, and a hook and uppercut with Berlanga pinned in a corner, followed by a right to the temple.

In the 10th round, there was another critical point, Alvarez walking away when he mistook the 10-second warning clapper for the end-of-round bell. Berlanga, as was his right, immediately punched him, prompting Alvarez to shout angrily at him as his rival de él gestured towards him.

Berlanga threw a total of 186 power punches during the contest, 79 of them in the final three rounds as he finally began to commit to his offense. The two men traded furious blows in the championship rounds, but once again Canelo’s landed with greater frequency, precision and solidity. At the end of the 11th round, Berlanga was trapped in Alvarez’s corner, giving the two men the opportunity to shout at each other again as the round ended and referee Harvey Dock stepped in.

Despite all the apparent bad blood, when the bell range to end the contest, the two men hugged and talked for a minute or two, displaying the respect they had earned for each other over the previous 47 minutes.

The result left no room for doubt. David Sutherland saw it 117-110 in favor of Alvarez, while Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld saw it a round wider, 118-109.