Taylor (left) improved his record to 26-0 by beating Ouma

The judges scored the contest 118-110, 117-111, 115-113 as the undefeated American went the distance for the fourth time in his career.

Uganda-born Kassim Ouma cut the champion's left eye in the fifth round.

But it could not prevent Taylor easing to the third defence of the titles he won from Bernard Hopkins in July 2005.

606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on Taylor's win over Ouma

Under an experimental scoring system, the judges' scores were announced after the fourth and eighth rounds.

Taylor led on all three cards at both intervals but admitted he tried too hard to force a premature end to the contest.

"I had it in my head all night I wanted to knock him out, and I threw myself out," the 28-year-old said.

"But he came in and he fought. That little guy, he's tough."

Taylor again talked about moving up in weight to take on unbeaten Briton Joe Calzaghe at super middleweight.