Tiah Ayton is barely halfway through her first full year in the paid ranks and yet showing why declarations she'll be a multi-weight undisputed world champion don't seem very far-fetched.

Ring and unified junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor travelled to Houghton-le-Spring, watching the teenager's September 6 stoppage of Lydie Bialic and deemed her a 'very special' talent with potential to be the all-time greatest when she's finished.

Three months on, she reeled off another stoppage - needing three rounds to dismiss Brazil's Ana Karla Vaz De Moraes (7-2, 3 KOs) and there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome. It's why she felt the need to apologise after an anticlimactic finish at York Hall on October 17 and why there's naturally a desire to see her tested among the very best, even still at 19.

Already booked and busy, the Bristol puncher is next slated to face another Brazilian over eight rounds in Catherine Tacone Ramos (9-3-1, 2 KOs) as part of the Leigh Wood-Josh Warrington II undercard at Nottingham Arena on February 21.

"It was a tough opponent but look at the performance she had," Matchroom CEO Frank Smith told The Ring.

"She got caught with some shots that fired her up to go finish the show. In terms of levels of opponents, you've got to step-up and that [quality of competition] will improve as more female fighters come into the ranks, but she'll be challenging for world titles in 2026."

Nine months ago, Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn came under scrutiny for his comments on 'mid-level' women's boxing, having willingly let Ring and unified junior featherweight titlist Ellie Scotney and other notable names venture over to pastures new with Most Valuable Promotions.

Headed by Jake Paul and Nikisa Bidarian, their aggressive recruitment drive features many top names across multiple weight divisions - champions, contenders, prospects - the latest signee being Scotney's gymmate and WBC lightweight champion Caroline Dubois.

While they have flourished with increased spotlight and exposure stateside, Hearn's point was that it's easy to finance at the lower entry level and big fights, like the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano trilogy and Taylor's two-fight series with Chantelle Cameron, all marquee nights on their own.

Taylor and newly-minted IBF champion Elif Nur Turhan (12-0, 8 KOs) are the two headline names within their existing roster, though former champions Skye Nicolson (15-1, 3 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (8-3-1, 3 KOs) have quietly sought to reclaim gold themselves.

One-time WBO lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon will return at junior lightweight in 2026, while Shannon Ryan isn't far from world-level opportunities at junior bantamweight after a sneakily successful 12 months with promising progression behind-the-scenes.

Finding the right opponents and profitably financing these bouts is tough, when not every fighter is blessed with the same hard-hitting power nor watchability that Beatriz Ferreira and Turhan combined to show in Monte-Carlo. Nicolson has been well-promoted, but has the same issue.

"You've got to make fights which interest fans, Ferreira-Turhan did and people should respect Beatriz for taking a real test as a world champion," Smith added. "That's why we want to see great fights - it won't always go your way - but that's how the sport grows and is our focus going forward."