ST. LOUIS (AP) — Devon Alexander retained his WBC and IBF junior welterweight titles with a unanimous 12-round decision over Andriy Kotelnik on Saturday night.
Alexander (21-0) won 116-112 on all three cards.
The 23-year-old St. Louis native scored enough points early to withstand a late charge from Kotelnik (31-4-1), a 31-year-old former WBA super lightweight champion from Ukraine.
Alexander suffered a deep cut over his right eye in the 10th round but was able to keep away from Kotelnik long enough to record the decision. He hopes to face fellow title-holder Timothy Bradley (26-0) in a battle of unbeaten 140-pound fighters in January.