Katie Taylor delivered an impressive victory over Poland’s Karina Kopinska inside three rounds of her professional debut at Wembley Arena.
The Bray woman, 30, enjoyed a glittering 15-year amateur career with five world titles and six European belts, as well as a memorable Olympic gold medal at London 2012.
Taylor, who failed in her bid to become double Olympic champion when she lost her opening bout in Rio earlier this year, looked determined from the moment she walked into the arena to face her 27-year-old opponent.
Kopinska was put on the back foot from the opening bell of the six-round super-featherweight contest in London.
Taylor looked sharp as she landed a series of head shots to immediately force the Pole, who had a record of 14 defeats from her 24 professional bouts, onto the back foot.
The one-way traffic continued in the second round, with the Wicklow boxer landing a series of body shots.
With Kopinska cut around her nose and forced onto the ropes as Taylor landed a series of telling head shots, it was no surprise to see the referee step in to call an end to the contest after 58 seconds of round three.
Taylor is next set to head to Manchester on December 10 as part of the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s IBF heavyweight title defence against Eric Molina.
She told Sky Sports 2 following her victory: “It was a privilege to be here on a huge night for women’s boxing, the support has been fantastic.
“I have been training so hard, so I have to thank my coach for that, because he has got me into fantastic shape.
“This was my pro debut and the tests are only going to get tougher from here.”