Taylor boxing clever to stay under the radar

PETER TAYLOR, father and coach to Katie, is hoping the Republic of Ireland’s qualification for next summer’s European Championships will help lighten the weight of expectation resting on his daughter’s shoulders in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

The 25-year old, three-time world champion is Ireland’s best hope of a gold medal in London even though she will have to wait until May of next year to even qualify for the event via the world championships in China.

“Like Katie has said, she is not there yet,” said Peter yesterday.

“We are just carrying on and doing as little media work as we can get away with because the more you are in the media the more pressure is on you.

“It’s great that the footballers have qualified for the Euros because it takes a bit of the pressure off and people will only start thinking about the Olympics after the European Championships.”

Taylor has herself played down the hype as she seeks to build on the recent success at the European Championships in Rotterdam where she claimed the continental title for the fifth time in six years.

Her schedule for the next six months will be a six-day-a-week, twice-a-day litany of training sessions in Ireland, Georgia and Moldova and tournaments in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and here at home.

Though the Olympics remains the ultimate goal, Taylor’s imperative is the world championships and qualifiers in China where she will have to finish among the top four European boxers to reserve her place for the Games in the English capital.

“Yeah, I’m just concentrating on the Olympic qualifiers,” she said.

“They’re what I have to peak for. They’re bigger than the Olympics for me, really, because I have to get there first. Afterwards, if I do qualify, then I’ll think about the Olympics.”

Taylor may have to fight seven times in China and that represents something of a concern given the Olympics will take place less than two months later.

“It is and it isn’t,” said Peter, “it is in that if you do qualify then there won’t be much of a run-in and that keeps the pressure off you a little bit but if you get injured, get your nose broken or a hand, then it is a problem.”

Having dominated women’s boxing for so long and done so much to pave the way for its entry into the Olympic pantheon, it would be unfortunate for Taylor were one punch, one slip or one suspect decision to cost her a shot at her long-held dream.

Last February she was controversially beaten by Bulgarian Denica Eliseeva in Bulgaria. Eliseeva, who was adjudged to have won the bout 5-1, apologised to Taylor after a fight which he father claimed they had won by at least 20 points. “I am not concerned about [judges] because I can’t control them,” he said. “All we can do is control what Katie does in the ring. President [Dr Ching-Kuo] Wu said last week that women’s boxing is in the Olympics because of Katie and that is good as well.”

The main threats to Taylor’s hopes of gold in both China and England are expected to be Sofya Ochigava from Russia and China’s Cheng Dong.