Katie Taylor remains the undisputed lightweight champion of the world after seeing off the challenge of Firuza Sharipova in Liverpool this evening.
The Bray fighter defended her five belts for the fifth time with a unanimous points decision win over the challenger from Kazakhstan.
Taylor earned the victory on all three judges' scorecards with margins of 98-92, 97-92 and 96-93 in the Irishwoman's favour.
The Irish fans in the arena watched compatriot Caoimhín Agyarko move to 10-0 with a composed win over Mexican-America Noe Larios on the undercard early in the evening.
By the time Taylor took to the ring, arriving to the sound of Liverpool's The La's and There She Goes, the atmosphere was electric and left little doubt who the fans' favourite was.
The Kazakh challenger Sharipova came in with an impressive CV of her own, undefeated through 14 fights with eight knockouts.
And she took the fight to Taylor in the early rounds, showing little sign that she was overawed by the most feared fighter in boxing.
Sharipova was the busier boxer in the first couple of rounds and tried to use her height and reach advantage to put Taylor on the backfoot.
She managed to maintain the distance but a cautious Taylor soon began to land shots using her noticeably quicker hands.
Sharipova was warned for a cheap shot on the head after the conclusion of the third round as she began to show signs of frustration.
Taylor was patient in spite of her corner's urging her to pick up the tempo and become more aggressive, and gradually the Kazakh's energy began to dim.
She remained on the front foot but Taylor became more adept at picking her off, landing a right cross and a left hook that momentarily rocked the challenger.
Taylor resisted the temptation to go for the knockdown in the final rounds and let Sharipova punch herself out, landing the better shots in a frantic closing round.
On the final bell, Taylor confirmed that she has her eyes set on Amanda Serrano in the new year, with a possible April date pencilled in for Madison Square Gardens.
She said: "She definitely wasn't tougher than I expected - we knew she was technically very good. It went exactly as we planned. She was very scrappy and was hard to get off.
""This is professional boxing - this is what it's all about. You're going to get things you can't prepare for, but it was another fantastic win.
"It was a great year and this prepares us for all the great fights next year. All the names that have been mentioned, the Amanda Serranos and Jessica McCaskles."
Promoter Eddie Hearn added: ""The plan 100% is Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Gardens.
"That is the biggest fight in women's boxing. Katie has wanted it for a long time. It's what everybody wants to see.
"Amanda Serrano fights next week and we wish her luck. She has the contract and, all going well, we'll see Taylor against Serrano in Madison Square Gardens in April."
