Taylor conquers Europe again

Katie Taylor’s dominance of the lightweight class in Europe began a decade ago after a defeat to a world champion when Yulia Nemstova beat Katie Taylor in the preliminaries of the 2004 European Championships in Italy.

The Russian, who won 63kg gold at the 2005 AIBA World Championships, won the four-rounder 27-12, a margin of victory Taylor disputed at the time.

It remains the Bray woman’s only reversal at European level, as a year later she claimed the lightweight title in Norway and has held the belt since.

On Saturday, the Olympic and world champion collected her sixth successive European title, this time at the expense of France’s Estelle Mossely in Bucharest, Romania.

The AIBA world number one lightweight won on a unanimous decision, boxing well within herself to earn a comfortable 40-36 verdict from all three judges.

The victory ensures she will remain European champion for 11 straight years, as the next Continental Championships won’t be until 2016.

“It was a tough final,” she said. “She’s a tall opponent and she’s quick and I had to keep my concentration. I thought I performed well and I’m delighted to have retained my title.

“The tactics from my corner were spot on, I didn’t lose a round at the championships. I’m proud of that and proud of winning gold under 10-point must scoring.

“The World Championships in Korea [Jeju island] are a few months away now. I’ll take a break for a few weeks and then go back into training for that.

“The best in the world were in Romania this week and I retained the title without losing a round. That speaks for itself and I’m on the right track for the Worlds.

“That’s my next target and I’m on track for that. Hopefully, I can then qualify for the Olympic Games again.”

Taylor, who will be aiming for her fifth AIBA world title in-a-row in November, picked up 800 AIBA ranking points by virtue of winning gold.

The Wicklow orthodox, who has now won 16 major international titles, praised team-mates Ceire Smith, Michaela Walsh, Joanna Lambe and bronze medallist Clare Grace.

“I thought the Irish squad performed brilliantly in Bucharest. They gave it everything and Clare won a medal in her first European Championships, which is a fantastic achievement,” said Taylor. Taylor and Grace helped Ireland finish in joint sixth spot with Azerbaijan and Ukraine in the medals table. Italy’s Marzia Davide, who Taylor has beaten twice in the past, claimed the Best Boxer Award.