Pittsburgh, PA (Ticker) - Undefeated IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora retained his title Tuesday night with an easy unanimous decision over Joel Perez. The fight card was part of the new ESPN2 boxing series Tuesday Night Fights.

Fighting in front of a hometown crowd packed into the I.C. Light Amphitheater, the undefeated Spadafora (33-0, 14 KOs) was not spectacular but boxed circles around the challenger and landed the cleaner punches throughout the contest.

"I couldn't get into the flow," said Spadafora, who successfully defended his title for the fifth time. "He didn't bring out the best in me."

Midway through the fourth round, Spadafora was credited with the lone knockdown even though it appeared the fighters' feet became entangled in the center of the ring.

The outgunned Perez had few answers for the champion's hand speed and superior defense as Spadafora coasted to a lopsided victory.

Two judges scored it 119-108, while the third had it 120-107, giving every round to the champion. In August 1999, Spadafora captured the vacant title in easy fashion as he dominated highly regarded "Pito" Cardona over 12 rounds to capture a unanimous decision.

Spadafora, 25, will most likely meet Angel Manfredy in his next title defense this summer. Perez, who is ranked 12th by the IBF in the lightweight division, fell to 31-5-2.

On the undercard, 2000 U.S. bronze medalist Jermain Taylor posted a four-round unanimous decision over Antonio Baker in a middleweight bout.

Taylor, 22, fought effectively, keeping Baker in survival mode throughout the contest. Taylor, who lost to eventual gold medalist Yermakahn Ibraimov of Kazakhstan in the Olympic semifinals, captured all three of the judges' scorecards, 40-36.

"I did my best," said Taylor. "The guy didn't come to fight."