FORMER Hermitage Academy pupil Hannah Rankin will be back in the ring this weekend – for the first time since becoming a world champion.

The 29-year-old from Luss will take on veteran Erin Toughill in Flint, Michigan this Saturday, October 5, as part of a bill headlined by double Olympic gold medallist and undisputed world middleweight champion Claressa Shields.

Rankin was crowned IBO super-welterweight champion after a points victory over American Sarah Curran in Paisley in June – a win which helped raise her profile on both sides of the Atlantic.

Rankin, whose Scottish affairs are handled by her co-manager Sam Kynoch, has also signed a new contract with US-based Salita Promotions and with a new American co-manager, Mark Taffet – and spent a week training alongside Shields in preparation for her own fight this Saturday.

READ MORE: Hannah makes history with world title triumph in Paisley

The fight against 42-year-old Toughill, a former Gladiator on the American version of the TV hit show, is only over six rounds, so doesn’t count as a full-blown title defence for Rankin; that will have to wait until November, when she is due to fight in Malta.

But her newly-forged links with the United States don’t mean she’ll be turning her back on her growing band of home supporters any time soon.

“I’ll definitely fight in Scotland again at some point as there’s nothing like a Scottish crowd,” Rankin told the Advertiser’s sister title, The Herald.

“When I was walking to the ring for the world title fight all the kids from Kynoch Boxing and their mates gave me a guard of honour.

“That gave me goosebumps. I didn’t expect that so to get that sort of love from the young team was amazing.

READ MORE: World title win 'one of the best nights of my life', says Rankin

“In the weeks after the fight I was just overwhelmed by how much support I got from everyone in Scotland. I was getting messages from people left, right and centre.

“People I had never met before were telling me how proud they were to have a female world champion. The Scots always get behind other Scots and it means a lot to have such good support.

“I’m extremely proud to be Scotland’s first female world champion. It comes with a lot of responsibility. I’ve had a lot of messages from kids who are excited for me and I think it’s nice for them to see a female world champion, especially the girls.”

Rankin still earns her corn as a classical musician and teacher, based in London – though building on those American links is crucial for the development of her boxing career.

“It’s opened a lot of doors for me,” she continued.

READ MORE: The rise and rise of Rankin: from Luss sheep farm to world boxing champion

“It’s allowed me to sign with Salita Promotions which should help get me more of the big fights that I’ve been looking for.

“A lot of them will be in America as most of my opponents are based in that part of the world, especially in my weight class.

“There are a lot of Scottish people in America so I tend to get really good support. It’s great to be flying the flag for Scots abroad.”