Andre Berto is now undefeated in 24 fights

Undefeated American welterweight Andre Berto scored a unanimous points victory over Luis Collazo in Biloxi to hold onto his WBC world crown.

Berto, who improved his record to 24-0, won by margins of 114-113, 114-113 and 116-111 on the judges' cards.

"Collazo is a tough customer, he's a slick southpaw and he caught me with a few shots," Berto said.

"I had to bite down and show everybody I had a beast in me. It was a close call. He banged it out with me."

Berto stopped Mexico's Miguel Angel Rodriguez in the seventh round last June to take the WBC crown, which was vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Collazo started well, hurting Berto with a fierce left inside the first minute and the undefeated champion was also cut in the fifth after a clash of heads.

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Both fighters were down in the 10th, largely through fatigue, but neither was classed as a knockdown.

The pair stood toe-to-toe in later rounds throwing a flurry of punches but Berto was the busier fighter in the last and it proved the difference when the judges scorecards came in.

"We had a hard pace through the whole fight," Collazo said.

"We left it all in the ring in the last round and he pulled out the win."

Collazo, who lost his WBA title to Ricky Hatton in 2006, now has a 29-4 record.

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