Wright has held his title for two years

The record of the 31-year-old American, who turned pro 13 years ago, is now 46-3 with 25 knockouts.

The judges scored the fight 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111 in Wright's favour.

Hernandez, 28, gave a decent account of himself in front of the 6,000 strong crowd, showing his ability to take a punch.

Wright said: "I knew he would be tough because he is a legitimate contender.

"I gave the fans what they wanted to see. I slugged it out with him."

I thought it was closer than the judges had it Angel Hernandez

Wright was always on top, connecting with more punches (253-196), and inflicting a cut below Hernandez's right eye in the middle rounds before bloodying his nose.

He convincingly won the sixth and eight rounds, imposing his authority whenever Hernandez showboated and stuck out his chin.

Wright continued to improve and in the 10th round landed a series of rights and lefts on Hernandez.

The challenger, who is now 25-5, said: "I made some mistakes and I paid for it, but I thought it was closer than the judges had it."

Wright, the former WBO junior middleweight champion, has now held the IBF title for the past two years.

He has tried without success to get a fight lined up with either Oscar De La Hoya or Shane Mosley.