NEW YORK - Exhausted beyond anything he'd previously felt in the ring, Gennady Golovkin could barely lift his collection of title belts.

Danny Jacobs thought they should have been handed to him, but Golovkin was awarded the decision after their superb 12-round middleweight championship bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Both fighters are knockout artists, yet this one went the distance - the first time in 24 fights that Golovkin didn't score a KO. The Kazakh won 115-112 on two judges' cards and 114-113 on the other.

"I give Gennady a 7.5 or an 8 out of 10," said his trainer, Abel Sanchez.

"The other guy's athleticism was very strong tonight, and Gennady's accuracy was not quite as pinpoint as we wanted."

In by far the toughest fight of his stellar career, Golovkin often was stymied by Jacobs switching to a southpaw stance. But a series of hard rights throughout the bout were enough - barely - to eke out the win.

"Daniel did a very good job," said Golovkin, who improved to 37-0.

"He is my favorite fighter now. I can't destroy him."

Jacobs, nicknamed 'Miracle Man' after he overcame bone cancer in 2011-12 to win 10 straight fights, thought he won quite handily.

"I thought I won it by at least two rounds, minimum," said the American. "But I did feel like I had to win the 12th round just to make sure."

Jacobs won the final round on two of the three cards, but it wasn't enough, perhaps because he was knocked down in the fourth - which went to Golovkin 10-8 on all three cards.

Still, with Madison Square Garden reverberating from chants for both fighters, no one could be sure of the outcome right until the final punch.

"This is boxing," the 34-year-old Golovkin said. "I wasn't thinking that I needed the 12th round to win the fight. This was my first test at 12 rounds. I needed a quality fight, not just the 12th round."

Jacobs is 32-2 and lost his WBA crown to Golovkin, who already owned the WBC, IBF and WBO titles.

Golovkin, a world champion since 2010, is 5-0 at the Garden, which he calls a "second home."

But Jacobs, from nearby Brooklyn, tested him more than anyone has.

On the horizon for the hard-hitting Kazakh could be a showdown with top contender Canelo Alvarez if the Mexican wins his fight in May against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

"Of course I am ready to fight Canelo. Of course I want that fight," Golovkin said. "I am like an animal for that fight."

But there's another option, he admitted.

"I will give Danny Jacobs a chance for a rematch, for sure," said Golovkin.

In the featured prelim, Thailand's Srisaket Sor Rungvisai stunned previously unbeaten Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez, knocking down the Nicaraguan in the first round, bloodying his face with an unintentional head-butt in the third, then winning a majority decision for the WBC super flyweight championship.

Both men went to the hospital for observation after the vicious fight.

Even though Sor Rungvisai was docked a point in the sixth round for another head-butt - there were several in the brutal bout - he never backed off.

He relentlessly attacked the cut over the right eye of Gonzalez, who clearly was hampered by the blood streaming down his face.

Associated Press