Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beats Gennady Golovkin on points to take WBC and WBA middleweight titles

But Alvarez - who sustained a cut above his left eye which worsened as the bout developed - visibly began to close distance in order to nullify Golovkin's jab. At times their heads were almost touching, bringing hooks and uppercuts into focus, and Golovkin sustained his own cut from a head collision.

Alvarez, a man steeped in the art of fighting with six brothers who also hold professional boxing records, remained game in walking forward repeatedly, a contrast to his a largely back-foot performance last time.

His mother was pictured praying at ringside after a ninth round which saw both men launch repeated attacks and Alvarez almost came unstuck in the 10th as a left hook to his jaw briefly rendered him limp, only for him to somehow quickly rediscover his poise.

But his work up close perhaps won the judges over. Ringside stats showed Alvarez landed 46 body punches compared to six from his rival but after landing a right to the body and left to the face in the final round, he ate two uppercuts in the closing 10 seconds as both men responded to the noise around them.

They embraced before each raising their hands but the cards prompted Mexican celebration on the country's Independence weekend.

"If the people want another fight then we'll do it again," said Alvarez, beaten only by Floyd Mayweather in a 53-fight career. "We'll do it, no doubt."

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