Nocher immune to all but Fed

It was only last May when Melanie Nocher decided she had better look up this female boxer everyone was raving about as a gold medal prospect.

Up to that, the Irish swimmer wouldn’t have known Katie Taylor had she been standing next to her in gloves and singlet so she Googled a few pictures. And good thing she did. As it happens, she will be sharing a townhouse in the Olympic village with the Bray boxer when the latter returns to fight in London next week.

It’s a revealing anecdote. Nocher is still only 24 but she has been pitching up at these major events for 11 years now and has two Commonwealth Games, three World Championships and the Beijing Games piled high on her CV.