Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez declared his mission for Saturday's trilogy fight with bitter rival Gennady Golovkin is to "finish him off" inside the distance.

After a split draw in their first fight five years ago, Canelo was declared the winner of their September 2018 rematch by a majority decision.

He edged a tight contest 115-113 on two of the judges' cards, with the other judge unable to split the fighters, while many observers thought Golovkin had been the superior fighter.

It means there is unfinished business heading into the long-awaited third fight, which, like the first two, will play out at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Golovkin, now 40 years of age, is a big underdog this time, while 32-year-old Canelo must handle the pressure of being the man expected to reign in the ring.

Speaking to Stats Perform, Canelo said: "I feel great, I'm ready for this weekend, so I can't wait. I'm very excited.

"I was very happy when I won the second fight because I knew I won the first fight, too, so I was really happy."

There is a real dislike between the fighters on a personal basis, with Mexican Canelo open about his disdain for Kazakh Golovkin.

"As a fighter, he's a great fighter, but as a person I don't like him," Canelo said.

The boxing website Boxrec rates Canelo as the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, placing Golovkin ninth on that list.

Nothing would give Canelo more pleasure than being able to settle fight three against 'Triple G' without the need for judges this time.

By channelling his personal feelings towards Golovkin into his punching, Canelo is confident of getting the job done.

"It gives you that extra motivation of wanting to win, to go and finish him off basically," Canelo said. "That's what I've been training for and that's what I'm hoping to do on Saturday."

Golovkin carries a 42-1-1 pro career record into the fight, while Canelo is 57-2-2 after slipping up in a light-heavyweight clash with Dmitry Bivol in May, also at T-Mobile Arena.

He narrowly lost on points to his Russian opponent that day, after going up a weight, and is adamant the recent experience of defeat will not hinder him come bell time on Saturday.

"It gives me extra motivation to come back," Canelo said. "Sometimes in boxing you win or lose, but I'm going to come back stronger than ever.

"I did something that I didn't need to do, going up a division, I have no right to go up there, but that's what happens. I lost this, and I need to accept it like a man and come back stronger than ever, and that's what I'll be doing."