HANNAH RANKIN savoured a homecoming to remember as she defended her two world titles at the Hydro in Glasgow.
It was the 31 year-old’s first fight in Scotland for two years and she made it a triumphant one as she stopped Alejandra Ayala to retain her WBA and IBO belts.
The Luss fighter, part of the Knoch Boxing stable, had to be wary in the early rounds as her Mexican opponent swung away at will.
Rankin, though, showed sufficient patience and when Ayala started to tire the Scot stepped it up to the point where the referee had no choice but to call it off in the final round with the challenger on the ropes and no longer trying to fight back.
It was another significant night for women’s boxing with Rankin becoming the first female to top the bill at the Hydro, Scotland’s biggest indoor arena, and broadcast live on Fightzone.
Ayala’s proud record shows she is no journeywoman and she made it tough for the Scot but by the end there was only going to be one winner.
Rankin said: “She came for a war – and that’s what she got. I was delighted. We’d been working on some things in the gym and that all came out in the second half of the fight.
“It went perfectly to plan. There are some huge fights in the super welterweight division right now. I have two of the belts – but I want the other three.
“That’s what I will be aiming to do.”
The victory sets up the prospect of a unification contest with Natasha Jonas, the current holder of the WBO super-lightweight strap, in what would be a heavily-anticipated Battle of Britain clash.
Rankin started this contest on the front foot and by the end of the second round had found her range with a couple of meaty blows.
Ayala, though, grew bolder as the fight wore on and by the third round was starting to land a few shots of her own, the pair trading blows in the centre of the ring.
The Mexican landed a right hand flush on Rankin’s chin on the fourth but the Scot came back and had her opponent briefly on the ropes with a combination of shots.
Ayala was showing a willingness to throw full-arm punches from all ranges, with Rankin wisely trying to stay out of the way while working her jab when she could get close enough.
The champion was the better boxer and tried to land combinations but wary all the time of being caught by Ayala who continued to swing away with gay abandon.
Rankin stepped it up in the eighth round, finally getting her opponent onto the ropes where she worked away at her with a flurry of body shots with both fists.
The Scot was still in control in the ninth and finished strongly as Ayala visibly tired on the ropes, the referee waving it off with the Mexican no longer fighting back.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel Collins believes there is still more to come from him after defending his Commonwealth featherweight title against Jacob Robinson in the main support act.
Both men went into the contest with unbeaten records and it was the Welshman – son of former world champion, Steve - who tasted defeat for the first time in his tenth professional outing.
All three judges scored in the Scot’s favour – 119-108, 120-107, 120-108.
It was a second successful defence of the belt for Collins who will now look to add the British title later in the year after moving to 11 contests without a blemish on his record.
The Bearsden fighter said: “Whatever we can get next I’m all for it. The British title would be a great step forward in my career. That’s my second defence of the Commonwealth but I’m ready to go up again. You can see tonight I can go up levels.
“I believe in my ability fully. I knew Jacob was going to be a tough challenge but I’ve got the pedigree and that’s how it played out.
“We probably could have upped the pressure but after we got past halfway I said to Joe I wanted to get the 12 rounds in. I got a wee bit of cramp in my quad at the end but it was easy work.”
