Sergio Martinez survived a late knockdown to reclaim the World Boxing Council (WBC)'s middleweight belt on Saturday when he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by a unanimous points decision.

Martinez, 37, dominated and was leading comfortably on the judges' score cards when he got into trouble in the 12th and final round, and the Argentine had to survive a late onslaught by Chavez as they went toe-to-toe.

Chavez knocked Martinez down in the final round but the veteran was able to hang on in front of a sold-out crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center arena in Las Vegas.

"He caught me with a good left hook and I lost my balance," Martinez said.

Judges Stanley Christodoulou (117-110), Adalaide Byrd (118-109) and Dave Moretti (118-109) all scored it in favor of Martinez.

Martinez, who came into the fight as a 2-1 favorite, improved to 50-2-2 with 28 knockouts.

The 26-year-old Chavez, son of one of the greatest boxer's in Mexican history by the same name, was making his fourth defense of the WBC middleweight crown, which at one time belonged to Martinez.

Ringside officials said Chavez landed 37 power punches in the final round while Martinez connected with just eight.

But overall, Martinez landed 390 of 908 punches compared to 178 of 322 for Chavez.

Asked if he would give Chavez a rematch, Martinez said, "Of course, I'm ready to start training again."

Martinez was stripped of his WBC title belt two years ago.

Meanwhile, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez kept his WBC super welterweight title by knocking challenger Josesito Lopez down three times before stopping him late in the fifth round.

Mexico's Alvarez had Lopez bleeding from both the nose and mouth as referee Joe Cortez stopped the one-sided fight with five seconds remaining in the fifth round.

The 22-year-old Alvarez, who is notable for his red hair, freckles and thunderous punching power, made his fifth title defense against a gritty but overmatched American opponent.

Alvarez was the more aggressive fighter from the opening bell in the fight as he kept his perfect record intact, improving to 41-0-1 with 30 knockouts.

AFP - Global Times