What next for Lauren Price?

Lauren Price is a “special” talent who will go on to fight “many more times in Wales” and “in stadium fights” according to Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom.

Price, 29, became Wales’ first female world champion and 14th world title holder in just her seventh professional fight on Saturday night as she produced a masterful display to beat WBA welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill.

Price, an Olympic champion, can now dream of some big nights and huge paydays having been catapulted into the upper echelons of the sport overnight.

The new WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine world welterweight champion, Price could be set for some huge nights ahead in a stacked division with the likes of IBF champion Natasha Jonas, WBO champion Sandy Ryan, WBA champion Ivana Habazin - who was ringside in Cardiff - and Olympic champion Mikaela Mayer, all now potential future opponents.

Price, who admitted the reception she got from her home fans in Cardiff "was up there" with winning an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, had never fought as a professional in Wales.

Shalom says he now expects to return regularly to Wales, with Price set to lead a boxing boom that has not been seen since the days when Joe Calzaghe was able to bring large bills to Cardiff.

“I am excited about the future. She can emulate what Katie Taylor has done in Ireland, in Wales," Shalom told BBC Sport Wales.

“There are so many big nights to come. We will come back here many, many times.

“I do believe we will see her in stadium fights. Her trajectory is very impressive.

“Absolutely we will come back to Cardiff.

“You need that star, like we had with Joe Calzaghe to put big nights on in Cardiff all the time and we’ve got that with Lauren."

Price says she will continue to prioritise fighting at home if she can.

"I’m going to make sure that I’m coming back to Cardiff definitely," she told BBC Radio Wales.

"I’ll speak to Ben [Shalom] I think he absolutely loved it you know even the Welsh talent on the undercard with the boys coming through.

"It's exciting for Wales there’s big nights in Cardiff to come back to.”

Price has always been in a rush to achieve her sporting dreams, having ticked off her ambitions of being a world champion kickboxer and an international footballer by the time she was a teenager.

Having progressed steadily through the amateur ranks before winning Olympic gold and turning professional, Price is now arguably the dominant force in what is an utterly stacked welterweight division.

Domestic showdowns with fellow world champions Jonas and Ryan could loom large, with WBA champion Habazin travelling to Cardiff to watch Price's triumphant night.

“She’s got the ability to dominate at welterweight," Shalom said.

"What a future she has and what a career to look forward to.

"I think the Natasha Jonas fight will happen, whether it will be next or not I don't know.

"There are so many big fights and big opportunities for Lauren. She is coming in at exactly the right time.

"There are some huge fights in this division."

"The world is her oyster now," Price's trainer Rob McCracken added.

Price has made clear she now hopes to fight in the Cardiff City Stadium and Principality Stadium, with Shalom believing stadium fights are "definitely" on the cards for Price in the future.

“Yeah, definitely, even if it’s not next, you know, in a few years, that’s the dream," Price added.

"For me to have the backing like that in my first world title fight on Saturday night, I think it just goes to show that the fans come out and supported me and my following is only going to get bigger.

"I want to sell out stadiums and I am sure I will get there."

Price believes she can beat anyone at welterweight and while Shalom is happy to let her try and unify the ultra-competitive 147 lbs division, he says he is already potentially eyeing a showdown between Price and American legend Clarissa Shields.

Shields, nicknamed the GWOAT (the greatest woman of all time) is a double-Olympic champion and three-weight world champion as a professional, having never lost in the paid ranks.

“She’s got the ability to dominate at welterweight but don’t forget in the Olympics she boxed at middleweight and at middleweight you’ve got Savannah Marshall and Clarissa Shields," Shalom added.

“I would feel confident about her fighting Clarissa Shields. With another time and building her up correctly, that could be a fight between the two best women’s boxers around.

"It would be the ultimate test for Lauren."