Katie Taylor defeated Natasha Jonas on Saturday night to take her undefeated record to 18-0 in Manchester.
The Bray fighter had to dig deep to successfully defend her WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight titles ahead of the heavyweight showdown between Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker.
Almost nine years after their 2012 Olympics bout, which Taylor won on her way to winning gold, Jonas was denied revenge as she lost via unanimous decision in what was a contender for the fight of the year.
The three judges scored the bout 96-94, 96-95, 96-95 in favour of the Irishwoman.
Taylor showed better hand speed and accuracy than her opponent in the first round and landed some nice body shots in the second, in which there was a slight clash of heads.
Jonas enjoyed more success in the third round as she deployed similar tactics to Delfine Persoon and dragged Taylor into a scrap.
Taylor kept it more tidy in the fourth and landed some nice uppercuts in the fifth before Jonas hit her with some heavy shots in the sixth.
Southpaw Jonas found success with more big punches in the seventh as her trainer Joe Gallagher was told by the referee to keep his shouting down.
The challenger looked to wind Taylor in the eighth, but the champion fought back well and landed a nice right hand in the penultimate round.
The war continued right until the final bell as Taylor showed incredible stamina to finish the bout the stronger of the two.
Saturday's bout may have happened sooner had Jonas not tasted defeat to Viviane Obenauf in 2018 and tonight's loss was just the second in her professional career.
Taylor had been expected to face Jessica McCaskill for the opportunity to become a two-weight undisputed champion this summer if successful against Jonas, but surely she will have to face the English fighter in a rematch now.
Speaking prior to Saturday's fight, Taylor said: “It’s definitely a possibility at some sort of a catchweight. I wouldn’t be able to make 147lbs but maybe at some sort of a catchweight like 142lbs or whatever.
“She’s not a genuine welterweight as well but it’s definitely a huge possibility. I’d love to become a multiple weight undisputed champion.
“I’d love to headline a big pay-per-view event in the future, I think that would be huge for the sport as well, if that’s a possibility."
Taylor previously defeated McCaskill in 2017, but the American has won seven world titles since and defeated Cecilia Braekhus, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time, twice since last August.
