Katie Taylor became the unified lightweight champion of the world after a dominant victory over a gritty but limited Victoria Noelia Bustos in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
After securing the WBA title in Cardiff last November, the 31-year-old Bray woman added the IBF title after ending Bustos’ five-year reign as champion, and in doing so joined Ryan Burnett and Carl Frampton by becoming just the third Irish boxer to accomplish the feat of unifying the division.
The powerful display from start to finish for the 2012 Olympic gold medallist was reflected in the judges’ score cards, with all three awarding the contest to Taylor, two on scores of 99-91 and one of 98-22.
The Irish woman is now halfway towards becoming undisputed champion with the WBO and WBC titles now in her sights, but for now though, Taylor will reflect on an impressive showing in New York.
This was her ninth outing as a professional and the second defence of the WBA title against an opponent who had never previously fought outside of her homeland.
Her first, against Jessica McCaskill, was a brawl and saw Taylor come in for some criticism in some quarters against her aggressive opponent, but she took the fight to Bustos from the very first bell.
Respect 👏 @KatieTaylor returns Victoria Bustos’ IBF World Title after the two fighters shared the ring earlier tonight. A new IBF belt will be on the way to Ireland 🇮🇪 👊#ChampChamp #TaylorBustos pic.twitter.com/3THktOCCWK
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 29, 2018
Taylor emerged to The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ rather than her usual ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’-'Thunderstruck’ mashup, and buoyed by a strong Irish support, she quickly had the Argentinean on the ropes. Indeed the opening three rounds saw Taylor repeatedly attack with the jab as Bustos struggled to land any meaningful punches.
"I'm thrilled to unify the titles. It's a dream come true"
The third finished with a strong combination from Taylor and it looked ominous for the IBF champion in her sixth defence of her title.
A measure of her dominance was evident by the fact Bustos landed just four punches in the sixth round, but she refused to buckle under the pressure, which was considerable and unrelenting.
The eighth round concluded with a flurry of Taylor punches, while in the ninth, she landed Bustos right on the chin as she sought to finish the contest, but her dogged opponent somehow managed to stay upright and see out to the bell.
Outclassed and outfought, a marked Bustos withstood the two minutes in the final round, but the result was never in doubt as all three judges sided with Taylor.
"I'm thrilled to unify the titles. It's a dream come true. It was a great fight and she was a brave opponent," Taylor told Sky Sports afterwards.
"Possibly, because I knew the quality of opposition was much higher than before," she responded when asked if it was her most difficult professional assignment to date.
"I had to be clever right from the start, she was a clever counter puncher, but I think I mixed it up well between boxing and fighting her tonight."
WBO World champion Rose Volante of Brazil and WBC belt holder Delfine Persoon are potential opponents for Taylor who will look to emulate Norwegian welterweight Cecila Braekhus, the only undisputed World champion
