'Pretty Boy' Floyd Mayweather is unbeaten in 30 contests

Floyd Mayweather's defensive technique was given a thorough test by Victoriano Sosa before the American retained his WBC lightweight title on Saturday.

The highly-rated 26-year-old was repeatedly roughed up by the challenger from the Dominican Republic in the early rounds in Fresno, California.

Sosa's fast hands appeared to stun the champion on several occasions as the former super-featherweight champion struggled to find his rhythm.

Mayweather was forced to rely on his defensive skills and left jab to keep ahead on the scorecards.

But he did little to justify his superstar billing, or $1.15m pay-cheque, as his conservative tactics were greeted by jeers from some sections of the crowd.

Whoever steps up to the plate, Floyd Mayweather is willing to fight them Floyd Mayweather

After the wide-margin verdict was greeted by more boos, while Sosa received a standing ovation, Mayweather said: "I stuck to my game-plan - a lot of shots that the people were looking at were hitting me on my shoulder and my arm.

"This guy was a solid opponent but I took my time time and the main thing was to win, and I did that.

"Whoever steps up to the plate, Floyd Mayweather is willing to fight them and take on all-comers."

Mayweather, in fact, did not look in danger of losing his 100% record from the fifth round onwards, with eventual scores of 118-110, 119-109 and 118-110 handing him his 30th straight success.

But he will have to do more before being ranked among the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet and talk of a mega-bucks showdown with light-middleweight star Oscar de la Hoya looks overly ambitious.