Welcome to the world of welterweights, Devon Alexander.

In his first fight at 147 pounds, Alexander looked confident, strong and sharp as he scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana of Argentina at Scottrade Center, despite bleeding from a cut over his right eye for most of the fight. He won 100-90 on two of the judges' cards, meaning they gave him all 10 rounds, and 99-91 on the other. The Post-Dispatch scored the fight 99-91.

At the final bell, Alexander raised his hands in victory while Maidana had the look of a fighter who knew he hadn't won.

Alexander improves to 23-1, while Maidana fell to 31-3. The fight was a big step toward Alexander becoming a player in the welterweight division, not just because he won but because he landed punches and looked sharper than he had recently.

Alexander's past two fights hadn't been his best, as he suffered his first loss as a pro to Timothy Bradley and then got knocked down for the first time though he came back to beat Lucas Matthysse by a split decision that was questioned by some.

Alexander, who came into the ring dressed in black, had the edge in the first two largely quiet rounds. In the third, though, the two picked up the pace, with Maidana getting Alexander on the ropes and landing some punches while later in the round, Alexander trapped Maidana in the corner and landed some punches on his own. The action kept up in the fourth round, where Alexander took a head butt from Maidana but landed some solid lefts.

Alexander began bleeding from above his right eye in the fourth though it didn't seem to impact his fighting.

By the fifth, Alexander was constantly wiping at his cut, though again, it seemed more a distraction than anything else. In the middle of the round, Alexander landed a good combination on Maidana and the a solid left.

Maidana went down in the seventh, but it was ruled a slip by the referee. But Alexander sensed an advantage and went on the attack, catching Maidana with several sharp punches after he got up. The round ended soon after, saving Maidana from further damage.

Maidana, no doubt sensing he was behind and was going to need a knockout, came out aggressively in the eighth, but by the middle of the round, it was Alexander landing the punches, though Maidana did succeed in reopening the cut above Alexander's eye. After that, all Alexander had to do was stay on his feet for the rest of the fight