Kelsey Leonard landed a second-round stoppage victory in her first professional fight in Belfast on Saturday night. The Naas native faced English fighter Kira Carter at Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast with several Irish boxers on the card. The 26-year-old stepped back into the ring following defeat to Michaela Walsh at the National Elite Competition in June, but it didn’t take long for her to snatch a first professional win. READ MORE:Ireland warm up for Rugby World Cup with comeback win in Cork READ MORE: Madie Gibson stars as impressive Athlone Town progress in Champions League It was an assured performance from the off as Leonard applied early pressure and was constantly on the front foot in the first of four planned rounds. She landed a couple of good body shots and was well in control before round two brought an early end to the fight as a strike knocked Carter to the ground, and after being checked by the referee, the white towel came in from Carter’s team. The Kildare boxer spoke to TG4 after the win: “Really happy. Excited the journey has finally started, it was a bit cagey in the first round, just trying to get a feel of everything. It was very different, so I’m happy with it.” She added: “I’m happy with the outcome, Kira is a good opponent, so, I did have those nerves coming in, she has a lot of good wins in her career, she hadn’t been stopped many times either, it was a tough opponent but, once I trusted in myself and put the pressure (it came off).” Asked what she wants next, Leonard said: “I want to get used to the professional scene as much as I can, get as many fights as I can and work my way up this year and see where it goes.” “That would be the ideal slot,” Leonard said when asked about fighting on Michael Conlan’s undercard later this year. “We’ve had that vision, so, hopefully after that performance, I’ll be looking towards that.” Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.