Olympics now within touching distance for Irish fighters

Irish interim head coach Zaur Antia believes that Olympic champion Katie Taylor will record a comprehensive third straight win over one of her biggest rivals today.

David Oliver Joyce, Brendan Irvine, and Taylor are in last-four action at the European Olympic qualifiers in Samsun, Turkey, this afternoon, one win each away from booking tickets for Rio 2016.

Taylor meets Azerbaijan’s Yana Alexseevna, who boxed for Ukraine as Yana Sydor up to 2012. Joyce faces Britain’s current European champion Joe Cordina, and Irvine is in against Armenian flyweight Narek Abgaryan.