The Welshman was rarely troubled by Jimenez and comfortably accumulated the 11th successful defence of his belt via an unanimous decision.

All three judges scored the fight in Calzaghe's favour 120-107.

The verdict meant the judges thought the Welsh fighter had won every round and included a point off for Jimenez for use of the head in the 10th.

Jimenez came into the bout on the back of only three weeks training and could not compete with the well-conditioned Calzaghe.

However, while Calzaghe dominated the challenger, he may not have impressed the American market with his inability to dispatch his game opponent.

A possible big-fight clash with either Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones could have been on offer if Calzaghe had been emphatic in victory.

But he was frustrated by him game opponent who took him the distance.

"He is a very tough fighter,� the 30-year-old Calzaghe said of the Puerto Rican.

"I realised that after three or four rounds. I hurt my hand on his head - although all fighters use that excuse of course.

"It's no excuse. I injured my left hand, but at the end of the day I boxed every round and I won every round. So considering I went the distance, I could not do more than that."