Promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that Katie Taylor will fight Rose Volante for the unified WBO lightweight belt in Philadelphia on 16 March.

Taylor is 12-0 as a professional and already has the WBA and IBF belts in her locker.

The Bray native is eager to join Ryan Burnett and Carl Frampton as the third Irish boxer to accomplish the feat of unifying her division.

WBO champion Volante has been in Taylor's sights for some time and, up until now, she had been frustrated in her efforts to line up a fight against either the Brazilian or WBC belt holder Delfine Persoon.

Volante has held the WBO title since December 2017, however, all but one of her 14 professional fights have taken place in her home country, Brazil.

Taylor called out both Volante and Persoon last month, saying: "To call themselves world champions, they have to fight the best. It's their responsibility as professional fighters to fight the best.

"[Rose] Valente has a WBO belt and Delfine Persoon has a WBC belt. The only fights that really make sense for me is one of them next. I want to become the undisputed champion."

News of the fight with Volante is the second major boost for Taylor this week as on Thursday, BoxRec, the sports official record keeper, confirmed that she is now rated as the pound for pound female professional boxer in the world.