Canelo to take break, undergo surgery on wrist

After a run of six fights in 21 months, undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez finally wants to take a break.

“I’m going to take my time,” Alvarez said early Sunday inside an empty T-Mobile Arena, a couple of hours after winning a unanimous decision over Gennady Golovkin.

“Maybe (I’ll return) in May, September. I don’t know.”

Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 knockouts) said he has torn cartilage in his left wrist, an injury that will require surgery and up to 12 weeks rehabilitation. The injury, he said, limited how explosive he could be during his training camp, thereby leading to fatigue in the final rounds against Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs).

Nevertheless, Alvarez dominated his rival in their third and final fight, recording a 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 victory in a bout that wasn’t nearly that close. Alvarez was the far busier fighter in the first eight rounds, though Golovkin opened up offensively toward the end of the fight — albeit rather ineffectively.

The bout wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first two, considered to be modern middleweight classics. Alvarez is 32 and in his prime, while Golovkin is 40 and far past his, though he still holds two belts at middleweight and insisted Saturday that he intends to continue boxing.

The fight against Alvarez was the last on Golovkin’s contract with DAZN, which streamed the fight Saturday via pay-per-view. As his own promoter with no ties to a network, Golovkin, the IBF and WBA 160-pound champion, is free to negotiate the best fights possible.

A mandatory WBA defense against Erislandy Lara looms for Golovkin, but he could vacate that belt and pursue other options. Jermall Charlo holds the WBC middleweight championship, and Janibek Alimkhanuly holds the WBO title. They’re aligned with Premier Boxing Champions and Top Rank and fight on Showtime and ESPN, respectively.

The bout with Alvarez most likely represents the final mega fight with which he will be involved.

“We’ve moved on because … at this level, this sport is so dangerous,” Golovkin said through a translator. “We are very content with how this fight played out and how our rivalry ended.”

Alvarez has many mega fights available now that he also is free from his two-fight promotional pact with Matchroom Boxing, which also tied him to DAZN.

The Mexican icon reiterated a desire for a rematch against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, to whom he lost May 7 to end a 16-fight unbeaten streak. Bivol defends his title Nov. 5 against Zurdo Ramirez, his first fight since schooling Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena with his sharp jab and fleet feet.

Should Alvarez stay at super middleweight, a bout with David Benavidez is the most marketable. Benavidez is a two-time WBC champion, twice losing his titles outside the ring for failing a drug test and missing weight. He employs an aggressive, stalking style — overwhelming opponents with speed and power in both hands.

Benavidez is also aligned with PBC, and Charlo could move up from middleweight to challenge Alvarez.

“I don’t care. I’ll fight anybody. And I fight my entire life (with) anybody,” Alvarez said. “They can do whatever they want. At the end of the day, I’m not bothered by who they fight.”

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.