Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has taken the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles after a majority decision against Gennady Golovkin.

The fight in Las Vegas came nearly a year to the day since a split-decision draw left the Kazakh boxer stunned.

And Triple G was left to rue what could have been again, with two judges scoring the last of the 12 rounds for the Mexican, which ultimately prevented a second draw in as many fights.

Two judges scored the fight 115-113 in favour of Canelo, while the third had it at 114-114.

The pair went blow for blow in the highly anticipated bout at the T-Mobile Arena, Canelo controlling the pace but Golovkin better with the jab in the early stages.

Canelo got in some strong body work in the second half of the fight but, into the 12th round, it was the champion who was pushing harder, landing a left-hook and uppercut.

The Mexican’s strong chin and even stronger resolve saw him go the distance and then take the three straps as Golovkin tasted defeat for the first time in 40 fights.

“I am a great fighter, and I showed it tonight,” said Alvarez.

“If the people want another round, I’ll do it again,” added the 28-year-old, who improves to 50-1-2. “I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory.”

Golovkin, who fell to 38-1-1 after the loss, left the ring immediately to get eight stitches to a cut above his right eye.

He later said he believed he had done enough to win – and opened the door for a possible third instalment.

“I’m not going to say who won tonight, because the victory belongs to Canelo according to the judges,” the deposed WBA, WBC and IBO middleweight king said.

“I thought it was a very good fight for the fans, and very exciting. I thought I fought better than he did.”

When asked about a third fight, he said: “Under the right conditions, yes.”