Katie Taylor beats Miriam Gutierrez with sublime display to defend her IBF, WBO, WBA and WBC lightweight titles

Katie Taylor extended her unbeaten streak to 17 fights on Saturday night as she dispatched Spanish boxer Miriam Gutierrez in dominant fashion to win by unanimous decision.

The Irishwoman remains the undisputed lightweight champion after her victory at Wembley’s SSE Arena, in a near punch-perfect showing.

The judges scored the fight 100-89, 100-90 and 99-91 in favour of Taylor, as she took control of every single round.

Reflecting on the fight, Taylor said: ‘I am very satisfied, I thought that was a great performance.

‘She was heavy handed and could punch so I am just very happy today.

‘I felt I hurt her in the first 30 seconds and thought I would get her out early, how wrong I was!’

The start of the bout was electric, with Taylor rushing in to deal some heavy blows early in the first round.

Things calmed down in the second, before the Irishwoman came out in the third round and rocked Gutierrez with a powerful left hook, before raining down punches on the Spaniard.

It looked to be a matter of time before Gutierrez was dropped, and sure enough a right hand from Taylor connected seconds before the end of the fourth to knock down her opponent.

A one-sided bout continued as Taylor controlled the flow of the fight, dominating her opponent in emphatic fashion.

Throughout the last six rounds she maintained her strong style and did not allow Gutierrez any way back in.

The standard of her performance prompted commentator Matthew Macklin to claim: ‘She is a special, special talent.

‘She is a once in a lifetime talent, just phenomenal.’

Credit to her opponent, who fought bravely through the last rounds of the fight to take it the distance but an expert performance from the Irishwoman saw her keep her undefeated record, whilst Gutierrez lost hers as a result.

Victory means that Taylor retains her IBF, WBO, WBA, WBC and Ring magazine titles, remaining as the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.

By Alistair Pollock