Sept 13 (Reuters) - Terence Crawford clinched a unanimous victory over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion in a thrilling contest at Las Vegas's Allegiant Stadium on Saturday.

Crawford set the pace from the start with a measured display that showcased his incredible hand speed and precise footwork, as the judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in favour of the American.

With Alvarez and Crawford both having been recognised as the world's top pound-for-pound boxers in the past, the fight always promised to be a boxing master class.

The pair delivered an entertaining battle that had the more than 70,000 people in attendance and millions on Netflix ( NFLX ) watching with bated breath throughout the 12-round showcase.

Crawford, a former undisputed champion at both light welterweight and welterweight, as well as a four-division world champion, stepped up two weight classes for the bout.

He tipped the scales at a career-high 167.5 pounds (75.98 kg) at the weigh-in on Friday, exactly the same as Alvarez, but that step-up did not appear to affect his mobility.

Keenly aware of his opponent's superior power, Crawford was the better boxer for much of the bout and expertly neutralised Alvarez's offence with a treacherous balancing act.

The 37-year-old maintained his distance as he flitted in and out of danger, landing flurries of blows on his opponent. The attritional assault by the smaller boxer put Alvarez on the back foot.

The Mexican champion connected with a few body shots early on but after being outboxed throughout the first half, he threw caution to the wind and retaliated with brute force in search of a knockout.

That knockout never came.

If anything, Crawford only grew in confidence, landing devastating combinations and absorbing any punches that sneaked through his guard with resilience as he improved his record to 42-0 (31 KOs) and kept his remarkable unbeaten streak alive.