Hannah Rankin says she is looking no further than tonight as she prepares for her headline bout at the OVO Hydro.

The Luss boxer takes on Alejandra Ayala at the 14,000-capacity arena in Glasgow in the first defence of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) super-welterweight titles she won in November.

The fight was originally due to take place at Braehead Arena – but the demand for tickets was so high that the bout was soon moved to the much larger venue.

It will be the first time a female boxer has headlined a contest in Scotland, and after the Irish fighter Katie Taylor headlined at the iconic Madison Square Garden last month, Rankin, a former pupil of Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, believes it is another indication of how much the female side of the sport is growing.

The prospect of a unification bout against reigning WBO champion Natasha Jonas has been mooted in the event of a home win this evening ­– but the 31-year-old says her entire focus is on her first title defence.

Speaking to the Advertiser, she said: “As far as I’m concerned there is nothing beyond May 13.

"In history, fighters who look past their opponents have lost, so I’m 100 per cent focussed on the job in hand.

“It’s my job at the end of the day to get in there and get my arm raised and hear the words ‘and still...’ - that’s the most important thing on my mind right now.

“There’s lots of exciting fights in the super welterweight division and the whole division has really turned itself on its head, but my sole focus is Alejandro Alaya on May 13. Once I deal with that then we can look forward."

A hectic week of preparations for Rankin has already included a public warm-up at the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow on Saturday as well as media duties and, at the same venue, the weigh-in on Thursday afternoon, alongside her last few days of training in the ring.

And Rankin says she's delighted at the level of interest in the fight – which features a packed undercard – and in women's boxing in general.

“When I started out boxing I didn’t ever expect to be hearing about Katie Taylor headlining Madison Square Gardens and myself headlining the Hydro," the former pupil of Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh said.

"Women’s boxing is massively on the rise and growing in popularity every day. It’s great to see because it’s about time we had some love and support from the general public.

“I think people realise now women can fight, and it’s not just for boys and men - women and girls have got skills and they put on great shows and it’s exciting to watch.”

Alaya, 33, comes into the fight with a record of 14 wins and five losses compared to Rankin’s 11 successes and five defeats – but despite her opponent having more experience on her side, Rankin believes that won’t mean anything on the night.

She added: “She’s a Mexican fighter and we all know they can fight, it’s part of their history, the same as Scotland. We have similar outlooks to fighting.

“She is very experienced and been in with quite a lot of people, but she doesn’t have the same resume as me so I believe I’m too big, too strong and will have too much for her on the night.”

Other fights on tonight's card include Scotland's own Nathaniel Collins defending his Commonwealth featherweight title against Welshman Jacob Robinson, and East Kilbride's David Jamieson putting his IBO international cruiserweight title on the line against Englishman Dec Spelman.

Friday’s fight will be broadcast live on Fightzone TV and ringwalks for Hannah's bout are expected at around 10pm.