It gave him a narrow a 114-114 115-113 115-113 majority decision to edge a contest in which both men were cut and where each showed why they are among the finest practitioners in the sport.
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Canelo beats GGG on points to win WBC and WBA middleweight titles
The Mexican claimed a frenetic final round on two of the three scorecards which was critical in preventing a repeat of the draw both men shared 364 days earlier at the same T-Mobile Arena venue.
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Golovkin, whose first defeat comes in his 40th bout - left the ring immediately without conducting an interview as his rival - fighting for the first time since serving a six-month drugs ban - celebrated.
"My corner told me that I needed to win the final round and that what's I did. I'm very emotional," said Alvarez, who has previously held world titles at middleweight and light-middleweight.
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Golovkin told reporters afterwards: "I'm not going to say who won tonight, because the victory belongs to Canelo according to the judges. I thought I fought better than he did. We would like to have a third fight, we will negotiate that, that's what we want."
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