Sandy Ryan validated the ambitious push toward her first major title fight.

A tour-de-force performance was delivered by the gifted boxer, who outclassed Canada’s Marie Pier Houle in their vacant WBO welterweight title fight. Judges Christophe Beaurain (99-91), Howard Foster (98-92) and Marco Moscadelli (97-93) all scored wide in favor of Ryan in their DAZN-aired co-feature Saturday evening from Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

Ryan did her part to not get dragged into her opponent’s desired a pace, a flaw that led to her lone career defeat in just her fourth pro fight barely a year ago. The former amateur standout from Derby—whose credentials include a 2017 win over Lauren Price, who went on to win Olympic Gold four years later in Tokyo—used her jab and slick footwork to avoid early punishment. Houle charged forward behind her jab and attempted to work the body.

Houle closed the gap and connected with a combination upstairs late in round two. Ryan took the shots well and returned to her desired distance before she connected with a right hand in the final ten seconds.

There was greater commitment to power shots applied by Ryan in round three. The talented Brit connected with a lead uppercut, which Houle brushed off but to which she did not have an immediate response. Houle was forced to tie up Ryan after taking an overhand right late in the round.

Houle continued to fight with the determination of a major title hopeful but her aggression played well into Ryan’s hands. Ryan consistently landed uppercuts and left hooks on the unbeaten Quebecer in round five. Houle showed a sturdy chin but was unable to respond. Ryan ended the round with a digging left hook to the body.

Ryan opened the second half with the same tools that produced frequent success in the preceding rounds. Houle extended her jab and offered looping left hooks but was often beaten to the punch before she could launch her own shots. Ryan walked through a left hook to rattle off a flurry of power shots upstairs as Houle was trapped along the ropes.

Houle stormed back in round seven. She didn’t necessarily win the round outright but managed to drop a few lefts and rights on Ryan’s granite chin.

Ryan widened her attack in round eight. The jab was still key for the Englishwoman, who followed with right hands around the high guard of a defensive-minded Houle. Action remained one way in round nine, which saw Houle frequently clinch as Ryan pressed forward in an effort to stamp her arrival on the title scene. A right uppercut snapped back the head of Houle with 30 seconds to go in the ninth.

The final two minutes saw Ryan continue to push for the knockout before she eventually settled for the wide decision win. Houle showed heart and grit but was forced to accept her first defeat as she fell to 8-1-1 (2KOs) in her first title fight and also first career fight outside of North America.

Ryan advanced to 6-1 (2KOs) with the win, her third straight since a ten-round, split decision to former titlist Erica Farias just thirteen months ago. An early indication of just how she’s built different came in her insistence to immediately run it back. Ryan won their rematch just five months later and followed with a ten-round shutout of former lightweight titlist Anahi Esther Sanchez last November 26.

The WBO belt was relinquished by Jessica McCaskill in the weeks following her defeat to Chantelle Cameron in their undisputed junior welterweight championship last November 5 in Abu Dhabi. Chicago’s McCaskill still holds the lineal, WBC and WBO welterweight titles and also fights for her old IBF belt in a forthcoming clash versus Ivana Habazin later this June.

Rumors have swirled that a McCaskill-Ryan clash could follow. Eddie Hearn—Ryan's promoter—confirmed that the two have agreed to terms in principle, though McCaskill still has to win her next fight.

Headlining the show, Shavkat Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14KOs) defends the IBF junior lightweight title versus former claimant and local hero Joe Cordina (15-0, 9KOs).  

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox