Another terrific effort from Taylor

Katie Taylor cruised to the 145th victory of her career to progress to tomorrow’s lightweight semi-finals at the European Women’s Championships in Bucharest.

The Olympic champion, who has fought 152 times since 2001, TKO’d Romania’s Lavina Ioana-Mera in yesterday’s 60kg quarter-final at the Polyvalent Hall.

The home fans were silenced by the second round as Taylor moved up through the gears, finding the target repeatedly with flashing combinations.

The Romanian, who won Munster and Cork titles boxing out of the Mitchelstown BC when she lived in Ireland, took a standing count off a left near the end of the third. She took another standing count a few seconds into the fourth and after a third count the ref stepped in. Taylor was ahead 30-27, 30-25, 30-25 at that point.

The Bray woman will meet a familiar foe, Bulgaria’s Denitsa Eliseeva in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Eliseeva was controversially adjudged to have beaten Taylor 5-1 – one of only seven defeats in Taylor’s entire career — in the Strandja Multi-Nations final in Bulgaria in February 2011.

Eliseeva, who has been beaten three times by Taylor, apologised to the Wicklow orthodox for the conduct of the judges immediately after that decision.

“It’s always nice to win, to keep winning,” Taylor said.

“I’m out here to defend the title and this win moves me a step closer.

“I thought she was a very brave boxer. She kept coming forward and I had to keep my concentration, anything can happen in boxing. I’m delighted with the win.”

Sofya Ochigava beat Germany’s Bugar Tasheena on a unanimous decision in yesterday’s other corresponding lightweight contest.

The Russian southpaw, who Taylor beat in the 2011 and 2012 European, World and Olympics finals, faces France’s Estelle Mossely tomorrow.

Ireland’s Michaela Walsh and Joanna Lambe bowed out at the last-eight stage yesterday despite brave performances in Bucharest. Walsh was beaten by Russia’s European champion Elena Savelana on a majority decision and Lambe lost on a unanimous decision.

Tomorrow’s semi-finals, which will also feature Ireland’s Clare Grace, begin at 12pm (Irish time). Grace boxes out of the Callan BC in Kilkenny and meets England’s Stacey Copeland.

England’s Nicola Adams, the Olympic flyweight champion, crashed out on a unanimous decision to Bulgaria’s Stoyka Petrova in yesterday’s 51kg quarter-final in Bucharest.