As Canelo Alvarez’s star continues to grow, it’s time to finish Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy

LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez was, at one point in his career, reserved and respectful ahead of his massive showcase fights — a departure from the traditional fighter archetype. Despite his calm demeanor, Alvarez was still the biggest attraction in boxing due to his incredible fighting prowess and his legion of fans — in Mexico, the United States and worldwide.

But this new side of Alvarez that he’s revealed this year? It’s only going to catapult him to another level of superstardom.

Alvarez promised to punish Billy Joe Saunders in May and then delivered when he shattered his foe’s orbital bone in three places. Moments later, he took it another step by unleashing a profanity-laced tirade on Demetrius Andrade, who dared crash the champion’s postfight presser.

The bombastic personality truly shone through in the lead-up to his 11th-round TKO victory over Caleb Plant on Saturday to become the undisputed super middleweight champion — the first time he’s collected all four major belts in his career. Plant called Alvarez a cheater, among other insults, and made the promotion “a little more personal” for Alvarez. The 31-year-old vowed that bad blood would carry over into the 168-pound title fight: “I always try to hurt them more.”

He did just that, battering Plant to the body and finally finishing him off in Round 11. A left hook, followed by a right uppercut scored the first knockdown, and a barrage of punches ended the fight moments later. Plant boxed well early on, but he ended up in the hospital (for precautionary reasons), just like Saunders.

“He was making the fight pretty difficult, but [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso] told me to just stick to the game plan in the last two rounds,” Alvarez said. “In the end, I got him. That’s the way it had to finish. He was already hurt and I went for the kill.”

Alvarez told ESPN on Wednesday that he held more disdain for Plant than anyone else he’s ever fought — even his bitter rival, Gennadiy…