Olympics:A stress free four rounds from Katie Taylor put the Irish world champion into the first ever women's lightweight Olympic final. Opening cautiously against Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva, Taylor once more demonstrated total control over the fight and comfortably led from beginning to end.
For the second time this week the ExCel Arena in London’s docklands was alive with Irish fans as the Irish champion swept into the final 17-9 and a guaranteed silver medal.
“The support out here is unbelievable, I feel like I’m boxing at home in Dublin, really,” said Taylor. “It’s incredible, 10,000 Irish people screaming for me, this is what dreams are made of and hopefully I can make everyone proud tomorrow.”
Again, Taylor used her trademark jab to great effect and from the beginning frustrated Chorieva, who was looking for a war close in. That was never in the Taylor plan and a modest 3-1 lead after the first was converted to 7-3 in Taylor's favour after four minute’s boxing.
In the third round Taylor began to find better range with her right hooks. It got to the stage where Chorieva was beckoning Taylor to come on to her but the Irish girl pointedly refused.
Taylor’s advantage grew to 13-6 after the third round, the lightning jabs finding their mark with regularity. By then Chorieva knew her Olympics were finished, Taylor going through to meet Russia's world number three Sofya Ochigava.
Ochigava has beaten Taylor once before, when winning 8-1 in the semi-final of the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic in 2010.
More relevant, perhaps, are the two more recent meetings - the 2011 European final and this year's world final - both of which were won by Taylor, 10-5 in the former and 11-7 in the latter.
