LAS VEGAS -- Ronald "Winky'' Wright retained his IBF junior middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Juan Candelo on Saturday night as part of the undercard for Roy Jones Jr.'s heavyweight fight against John Ruiz.

Wright was successful in his third defense with a steady, methodical effort against the tough Colombian. Candelo threw more than 1,100 punches and had a few impressive rounds, but nothing near Wright's consistency.

As usual with Wright, it wasn't a dramatic fight, with few thrilling exchanges but a solid edge on every judge's scorecard. Candelo, the top-ranked IBF contender, tumbled to the canvas in the 12th round in response to an apparent low blow by Wright, but the referee didn't buy it.

Wright, desperate to fight Oscar De La Hoya at 153 pounds, repeated his desire after the victory. Wright, who has won six straight fights, improved to 45-3.

"He was tough, and I'm glad he was tough,'' Wright said. "It'll make me more ready when I face De La Hoya. He was tough and he was slippery. He deserved to be a No. 1 contender.''

In the final undercard bout before Jones' historic first fight as a heavyweight, Fres Oquendo knocked out journeyman Maurice Harris with a nasty right hand in the 10th round of their non-title bout. It was a terribly dull fight until Oquendo caught Harris ducking, then sent him sprawling to the mat.

Earlier, Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck defended his WBA cruiserweight title with an eighth-round TKO of Ukrainian Alexander Gurov.

Shaquille O'Neal, Denzel Washington, Charles Barkley, Emmitt Smith, Ray Lewis and O.J. Simpson were among the dozens of celebrities in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center, though the fight wasn't expected to sell out.