In her first schedule eight-round bout, the Bray woman paced herself while dominating the contest against her Bulgarian opponent, who was put on the canvas in the seventh round.

Boxing on the undercard of the world lightweight title rematch between Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla, Taylor claimed a unanimous 80-72 decision on referee Howard Foster’s card.

Koleva carried a 9-7-1 record into the bout, having last fought in January for the IBF world super-featherweight title. That marked the Bulgarian’s only stoppage loss – losing out in the ninth round to home champion Maiva Hamadouche of France.

The 28-year-old previously competed in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), while Taylor had claimed her opponent represented her “biggest test yet” as a professional in advance of the bout.

The Irishwoman walked to the ring with James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” mixed into her now standard entrance music of AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’.

Taylor measured Koleva up in the opening seconds before throwing a number of fast-handed combinations to the head. Koleva had some success with a right hand in the opener, but she appeared at times surprised by the speed of her opponent.

That pattern continued into the second, broken up by a big Taylor left hook less than a minute into the round, while the Bulgarian attempted to test the chin of her decorated foe with the Irishwoman walking through the few shots that landed.

Clearly pacing herself, the Bray native landed with flurries before backing off occasionally as she appeared to holding some gas in the tank.

A sharp right hand knocked back the head of Koleva in the fourth and the rugged underdog was already threatening to fall into survival mode into the fifth as Taylor worked the body.

An excited Taylor eagerly pursued her foe in the sixth, again targeting the liver, and Koleva looked nearly out on her feet.

The Bulgarian was down in the seventh after a flurry of punches culminated in a right hook to send Koleva to the canvas.

Referee Foster administered a count as the 28-year-old rose up and while Taylor threw a number of spiteful shots, Koleva managed to see out the round to head into the final stanza, which saw the Irishwoman ease to a points victory.

Taylor is due back out in London next month before an anticipate date in the US during the summer.

“The opponents are going to step up now as we kick on this year for a world title,” said the 30-year-old following her fourth win on the bounce since turning professional last November.