MANCHESTER — Katie Taylor secured her second win this month after winning every round against Milena Koleva in her first eight-round bout on Saturday.

The Irishwoman extended her professional record to 4-0 after flooring her Bulgarian opponent in the seventh round and then triumphing 80-72 on points at the Manchester Arena.

Lightweight Taylor — one of the biggest sports stars in her homeland — is racing towards a world title shot after only turning professional four months ago. But the 30-year-old was glad of the rounds so early in her fledgling paid career.

“That was a great fight for me and all credit to my opponent, she gave it everything she had,” said Taylor.

“Hopefully in two or three fights I will challenge for a world title. I definitely feel ready now. It was great to be part of such a great bill, it was a great experience.”

Taylor had been due to face former world title challenger Koleva earlier this month, but the Bulgarian pulled out due to a chest infection.

The 28-year-old Koleva (9-7-1, 3 KOs) was stopped by France’s IBF super-featherweight champion Maiva Hamadouche in January and represented a step up in class for 2012 Olympic gold medallist Taylor.

But Taylor (3-0, 2 KOs) was always in command on the undercard of the world lightweight title fight between Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla. She is due to fight again on the undercard of the world heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in London, where a crowd of 90,000 is expected on April 27.

“I definitely want to progress fast and, if you’re talking about world titles at the end of the year, these are the steps I need to take,” Taylor said.

“Every show I’ve boxed on, the support I’ve got has got bigger and bigger. I am so grateful for that as well.

“Everyone in the UK has adopted me as their own, the support has been fantastic. I just hope I continue to impress and continue winning, which is the most important thing.”