By Matt Bevan

Nicola Adams OBE lit up the Manchester Arena on her highly anticipated pro debut, as she proved to be levels above Virginia Noemi Carcamo, winning every round live on BT Sport.

Adams, who won gold at both the London and Rio Olympic Games as well as world and commonwealth gold amongst many others, was correctly judged the 40-36 victor by referee Steve Gray.

“The Lioness”, who is trained by Virgil Hunter, overcame some early anxiety in the first round, and began to find her rhythm towards the end of the opener, getting through with some sharp blows.

But she settled much quicker into her stride, working behind her jab in the second round, avoiding any of the awkward Carcamo’s wild swings. She landed some solid shots that had the Argentinian in plenty of trouble, in particular with a left hand that had Carcamo holding on.

She was well into her groove by the end of the third, judging the distance with expert precision, with a right uppercut proving to be the punch of the round. Carcamo did catch her with a right hand at the end of the round, but Adams was never bothered.

Adams rounded off a good performance in the fourth and final round, demonstrating her far superior skills over the scrappy Argentine, who was having her first fight outside of her native country, who will have been happy to hear the final bell.

After her win, Adams said: “I enjoyed every minute of it. I was a bit eager to get the stoppage tonight to entertain the crowd though. It’s amazing to be here and I’d like to thank all the fans for coming and watching at home.

“It was a lot better without the headguard and it doesn't affect your vision as much. I’m here to stay.”

Promoter Frank Warren added: “After a couple of fights, we’ll sit down between us and decide whether to go for a title. She started really flowing in the later rounds, so the longer distance will certainly suit her.”

Adams will next be in action on May 13th at the First Direct Arena in her hometown, where she will be looking for a step-up in opponent, as she has set her sights in capturing world title glory in quick fashion.