Destiny fulfilled as cool Katie takes place on top of world

Women’s boxing at London 2012 was all about Katie Taylor and yesterday the woman who played such a big role in getting it added to the Olympic programme was rewarded by having a gold medal hung round her neck.

All week in London she insisted she would not be happy or satisfied until she stood on the podium to the sound of Amhran na bhFiann and she claimed the honour and the gold medal in a tense final which saw her come from a point down at the end of the second round to win the third 4-1 and then hold on to her two-point lead in a dour struggle with world No 2 Sofya Ochigava to win the contest 10-8.

In total contrast to Monday’s quarter-final against Natasha Jonas, which was a bit of Ali-Foreman-Frazier all rolled into one, this was a tense and dramatic affair.

Rushing combinations punctuated by point-scoring single shots and more posturing than punching at times as they tied each other up, pushed each other back, each one refusing to concede control of the ring.

It was their fourth time of meeting and the Bray boxer had won two of the previous three encounters, including the high profile final at this year’s World Championships in China which was another tense affair.

There are few secrets between them. Again the Russian applied the early pressure, stole a couple of points and then, after Taylor got through with a couple of hooks of her own, the round ended up level at 2-2.

Ochigava got in a couple of good shots at the start of the second before they got close and personal again, tying each other up and trying to push each other back. This time the Russian got the extra scoring punch in and won the round 2-1 to snatch the lead.

“We always knew it was going to be a tough fight but, even when we went a point down I knew it was Katie’s destiny to win,” her father and coach, Pete, said.

“We knew it was going to be a tough fight. I knew I had to stay calm and composed,” Taylor said. “It was always going to be a game of patience. Everything worked out great in the ring.

“We stayed calm, dad and Zaur [Antia] in the corner as well. The tactics are always spot on, my dad, Zaur and Billy [Walsh] are the best coaches in the world. Everything went to plan.

“We knew the score — knew one point down after the second round but that was only one punch at end of day. One point is nothing. Dad said to me before if I went a point down to just stay calm and composed.

“They were so calm in the corner, so relaxed and told me to stick to the game plan.

“They knew I’d pick up a few points and I did and it was great to be a couple of points up going into the last. I didn’t know the score in the end and I thought it might have gone to count back.

“Thankfully I managed to keep the two score up. It was a great last round.”

“It was just a huge relief,” Katie said. “I didn’t know what way decision would go. I thought it might go to countback when there was such a delay. But it was a huge relief, what I always dreamed of, envisaged so many times, better than all my wildest dreams, an Olympic gold medal, such a relief.

“It was always going to be tough against her. This was the fourth time I boxed her and every time it was cat and mouse so it was always going to be that sort of contest.”

All week Katie has been praising the fans who travelled to support her and she said that it was the support of the fans that drove her on again yesterday when she went behind.

“It’s been unbelievable,” she said. “I tried to approach it like any other tournament but the only difference was the crowd — it made it so intense and I knew everyone was watching at home. Ten thousand people watched it in Bray yesterday.

“I definitely think even in first fight against Natasha Jonas the crowd lifted me up. I came back after second round feeling tired, my legs felt dead. Definitely the crowd lifts you up. See with British fighters; they seem to be only ones who come back to get the wins and that’s exactly what happened me — one point down — the support around me gave me that lift. An unbelievable atmosphere to box in.”

No matter what her father feels about whether to return to football or continue to box she was adamant that she would find it difficult to walk away from boxing after all this — an Olympic gold medal, four world titles, five European titles, 132 wins seven losses, some of those losses of the dubious variety.

“My dad wants me to stop,” she said. “I have no intention at all of stopping. There’s another 10 years left in me. I’m definitely going to continue. I’ll take a few weeks off but I’ll continue to box.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, turn pro or stay amateur. We’ll sit down talk about that and make a decision in next few weeks.

“I’ll take a few weeks off, go back training, do what I’ve always done, stay focused on each competition as it comes along, each fight, don’t look too far ahead. There’s always going to be pressure in every single contest — pressure I put on myself rather than other people’s expectations. It’s been like that since the start and it’s not going to change.”