PITTSBURGH -- IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora didn't need any home cooking Saturday night as the hometown hero defended his crown for the sixth time with a closely contested, but clearly unanimous decision over veteran contender Angel Manfredy.

All three judges scored it 115-113 for the 35-0 (14 KOs) champion. MaxBoxing had it 116-112 for Spadafora.

It was supposed to be the coming-out party for Spadafora, who has long been one of boxing's underrated champions.

In Manfredy (39-6-1, 29 KOs), he had the perfect foil.

After two close rounds to begin the contest, Spadafora started to take command by the third. Using the ring and his superior defensive skills to his advantage, he made Manfredy miss repeatedly while he shot off three- and four-punch combinations of his own.

In the middle rounds, Manfredy continued to chase while Spadafora put on a boxing clinic. By the ninth round, Spadafora had a comfortable lead, and while he never hurt his opponent, he had scored enough points with his southpaw jab and an equally effective lead left.

Spadafora puts himself in line for a shot at the winner of one of the other upcoming lightweight title bouts, either Jose Luis Castillo-Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Leo Dorin-Raul Balbi.

In the HBO Boxing After Dark co-feature, featherweight contender Juan Manuel Marquez put on a boxing clinic of his own against Robbie Peden, stopping the Australian in 10 rounds.

Marquez, 38-2 (30 KOs), earned a mandatory shot at IBF featherweight champion Manuel Medina with the victory, which drops Peden to 20-2 with 10 KOs.

In undercard bouts, Michael Grant defeated Reynaldo Minus with a TKO in the fourth, as did Jerson Ravelo against. Ted Don Muller. It was a third-round TKO for Paolo Vidoz over Craig Tomlinson, and a second-round TKO for Clarence Vinson over Shane Langford.