Katie Taylor stops Kopinska on pro debut

Katie Taylor won the first fight of her professional career in the SSE Arena at Wembley in stunning fashion.

The 30-year-old from Bray, who suffered the worst year of her amateur career culminating in a loss in the Rio Olympics Games, where she was the defending lightweight champion, earned her first paid win over Poland's Karina Kopinska when the referee stopped the fight 58 seconds into the third round.

“It’s a massive privilege and a massive night for women’s boxing,” said Taylor. “I’ve been training so hard these last couple of months. I’m in fantastic shape but I’m not getting too carried away,”

Taylor started where she left off at the height of her amateur domination, landing jabs in the first round from the off and with a vocal crowd behind her she had her Polish opponent backtracking in the opening two rounds.

In a terribly one sided contest, Taylor’s class showed through from the moment her stinging left jab began to land and the combinations started coming.

In the end the fight lasted just under five minutes (4:58 seconds), her ferocity and speed dominating every aspect of the fight.

"It couldn't have been a better start, not just the win but the performance. Katie Taylor is here to win. That was the absolute perfect, perfect performance," said promoter Eddie Ahearn.

The end arrived when Kopinska was forced into her own corner and Taylor rained down the blows. The referee standing right beside the action allowed it to unfold for maybe 10 second before stepping in.

It was the right call. Taylor’s Polish opponent could not defend herself.

It was a mark made in the professional ranks, the perfect beginning to what promised to be a closely followed career.

Backed by Sky Sports and live on television, Taylor looked to impress and entertain in front of the crowd of 3,000 as well as gain her first win in the paid ranks.

Taylor has another paid bout pencilled in on the undercard of Anthony Joshua, who will fight in Manchester on December 10th and she might also box at Madison Square Garden on March 18th.

Taylor’s promoter Hearn is hopeful that he has nailed down a fight on middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin’s next bill in New York on St Patrick’s Day weekend.