Maccarinelli has stopped 13 of his 19 opponents

But he was never in trouble as he dominated Belgian Ismail Abdoul to win an emphatic unanimous points victory.

"I thought my overall performance was quite good. I train for the full 12 rounds every time so it was no problem," said Maccarinelli.

The fight was scored 120-108 in Maccarinelli's favour by one judge, and 119-109 by the other two.

It was the fourth successful defence in a year for Maccarinelli, who had never been beyond eight rounds before.

Abdoul had been stopped just once in his 26 previous fights and offered an unsurprisingly solid defence in the fight.

But Maccarinelli remained in control, out-jabbing his challenger and stalked him relentlessly.

The Welshman impressively won his previous three defences inside the distance.

Journeyman Keith Jones marked his 100th professional outing by fighting for the vacant Welsh welterweight title but was stopped in eight rounds by Bradley Pryce. It was Jones' 85th defeat.

There were also wins for Newbridge lightweight Gavin Rees, featherweight hope Jamie Arthur, welterweight prospect Tony Doherty and debut-making light welterweight Barrie Jones.