Taylor, the number 1 seed, will be taking home at least silver from London 2012 and very possibly the coveted gold. Ms. Katie Taylor will be boxing for that Olympic Gold tomorrow after she delivered another technical masterpiece fight at London’s ExCel Arena.
The Bray girl proved far too good for Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva in today’s semi-final and now faces Russian number two seed, Sofya Ochigava, in a repeat of this year’s World Championships final, a main event which Taylor won.
Yet again, Taylor enjoyed extraordinary support in the London Eastend arena and quickly made her superior ring-craft count against the hard-charging Chorieva. She picked the Tajik off at will with lightning combinations, easing into a 3-1 lead at the end of the first round.
Irish boxing fans once again provided an emotionally charged backdrop to another triumph for the Co. Wicklow woman this afternoon. Already they were singing the Fields of Athenry and, when Taylor took the second 4-2, there was a sense of her easing away from Chorieva.
Thereafter, it was largely Taylor walking away, the lightweight Bray girl picking off an out-classed opponent with wonderful combinations.
She was given the third round on a 6-3 scoreline and, taking 13-6 lead into the fourth, she was never going to be beaten. The final score was 17-9 in Taylor’s favor, giving all four rounds to the girl from Bray.
As expected, in the other semi-final which took place today, Ochigava came through a tough battle with Adriana Araujo of Brazil.
Today’s victory, the 132nd of Taylor’s career, was delivered exactly 20-years to the day since Michael Carruth, the only Irish boxer to win Olympic gold, finished on top of the welterweight podium at the Barcelona Olympics on August 8th, 1992.
“It’s a dream come true for me, said the four-time AIBA World champion after her win.
“Today was such a tricky fight. She’s a very good counter-puncher so I knew it was going to be close and now I’m boxing for a gold medal tomorrow.It’s an absolute dream for me.
“Tomorrow is going to be another big day and please God I can bring home gold. It’s going to be a different fight tomorrow.”
“It’s all about the pace. One, two, three and get out.” Those were the instructions from Taylor’s dad and coach, Pete Taylor, and Zuar Antia, who were working her corner today, after she claimed the first round 3-1 versus Chorieva.
