Katie Taylor lands bye into last 32 at World Championships in Astana

OLYMPIC champion Katie Taylor has received a bye into the last 32 of the ninth World Women’s Elite Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The No. 1 seed will meet either Italy’s Irma Testa or Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson — who clash today — on Saturday when she will be three wins away from qualification for August’s Olympics.

The top four (semi-finalists) book Olympic tickets in Astana. If Taylor wins three fights in the Kazakh capital she’ll qualify outright. Five wins will see Taylor claim an historic sixth successive title.

However, there is another route to Rio should Taylor lost to Testa. Testa qualified for Olympics via the Euros in Samsun, Turkey last month. If Testa makes the semi-finals in Astana, she must take the world place and the European Olympic berth kicks back to Taylor who won the third-place box-off in Samsun.

Azerbaijan’s Yana Alekseevna, who beat Taylor in Samsun, can only face the Wicklow woman in the semi-finals in Astana, while America’s Mikaela Mayer — with ex-Irish coach Billy Walsh in her corner - can only meet the Irishwoman in the final.

Meanwhile, Cavan BC flyweight Ceire Smith, boxing in one of the three Olympic weights for women, gets Ireland’s campaign underway against Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia today.

Cork’s Christina Desmond faces Khadija Mardi of Morocco tomorrow in the middleweight class, the third Olympic weight for women. Ireland have an eight-strong squad in Astana.

Irish team manager Anna Moore said: “The squad have prepared well and are very eager to get the tournament underway.”

Elsewhere, Rio 2016 Olympians Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan received byes into today’s semi-finals at the Socikas Invitational in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Joe Ward, who has also qualified for Rio, withdrew from the tournament after picking up a virus.