It's is not the end of the road to Rio for Katie Taylor, with another qualifying event available in the world championships next month. But her defeat to Yana Alekseevna in the semi-final of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey on Friday represents a setback for the European, World and Olympic champion.
Her last legitimate defeat at championship level was over a decade ago and the only one since then was a highly controversial decision in a multination event in Bulgaria five years ago, after which the boxer who beat her, Denista Eliseeva, apologised for the judging.
But her fall to Azerbaijan’s Alekseevna, after a contest she had to chase after losing the first round on all three judges’ cards, now makes next month’s world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, considerably more fraught, not least because the aura of Taylor’s invincibility has been broken.
As of now the defending Olympic champion is not travelling to Rio, as only the top two from Turkey go through. She will have to finish in the top four, the semi-final stage, at the Astana world championships to secure her place among the 12 for the lightweight Olympic competition.
Taylor has won the last five 60kg world championships and is aiming for a record sixth, and prior to her loss in Turkey would have been favourite to stage a successful defence. But the talented Alekseevna is not a new arrival on the boxing scene.
Southpaws
At last year’s inaugural European Games in
Baku
, Taylor had to rely on a countback at the semi-final stage, when the three judges scored her bout against Alekseevna even.
Southpaws who counterpunch have always been difficult opponents for Taylor, Sofya Ochigava, the Russian she defeated in the 2012 London Olympic final, was another. Inevitably the contests are tight and cagey and until now she has always found a way.
As Brendan Irvine and David Oliver Joyce also lost, questions will arise inevitably about the loss of the collective boxing intelligence of Pete Taylor and Billy Walsh. Katie's father Pete was not in her corner in Turkey for the first time at championship level in more than 10 years, since the 29-year-old became a teenage European champion in 2005.
Days before she travelled to Turkey with the Irish team, Katie said the position was not expected to change between now and the world championships or Rio if she qualifies.
“My dad is just taking a bit of a break. The team I have a round me are the team I’m going to go ahead with right up to Rio,” she said.
“A change can be as good as a rest. I owe so much to my dad. He sewed a lot into me and he’s entitled to a break. The last few years have been very tough on him as well. He’s entitled to that break and I just have to stay focused and keep going.
Transition
“The most important relationship between me and my dad is a father and daughter relationship. Nothing is going to change there. The coaching thing was always secondary to us anyway. So long as I have him there as a father is the most important thing.”
The transition to Zaur Antia, who was in her corner in Turkey with Michael Conlan’s father John, was initially tricky, but, she said, was no longer an issue.“The first few weeks it was hard, hard to adapt to everything,” said Katie.
“Sometimes a change can be good as well. Zaur and the team have gone above and beyond to help me make that change.”
Few will quibble about the outcome in Turkey, with Taylor’s challenge, one she won’t shirk, to come back better next month. Alekseevna played a clever game, using her longer reach to keep Taylor at distance, the left backhand always at the ready. All three judges scored the first round 10-9 to the Azeri.
Taylor picked up with a better second round where the referee instructed the two to engage more, but still one of the judges sided with Alekseevna.
The Bray 29-year-old Bray woman’s tempo rose in the third and fourth rounds as she tried to score fast and get away, but Alekseevna remained composed, all three judges siding with her for a shock 39-37 win.
Irvine and Joyce lost their semi-finals, but both have one more chance for a shot at Rio. Belfast flyweight Irvine was beaten on a unanimous decision by Armenia’s Narek Abgaryan, while Joyce also lost by a unanimous decision to British boxer, Joe Cordina. Both will box off on Saturday.
