‘It’s great to get the ball rolling’ says Katie Taylor after first fight victory

Katie Taylor didn’t disappoint in her first fight of the World Championships in Jeju. The defending champion earned a unanimous decision over Dominica’s Valerian Spicer in a bout that turned into a chasing game for the Irish boxer.

The second round meeting was, from the beginning, mildly frustrating for Taylor as the inexperienced Spicer continually backed away under the 28-year-old’s greater speed and power.

While it was far from a showcase fight for Taylor, she was satisfied that her first steps in the Halla Gymnasium ring after two weeks of preparation in Jeju ended in such a clear cut result.

Valerian was the taller of the two and her reach was superior but from the first few seconds Taylor was stalking her and exploding into combinations.

Standing up between rounds, Taylor steadily accumulated points, her jab regularly landing and the big back hand following.

The first one is always trickly

Sometimes too anxious to land cleanly, she rushed a few moves but in the end of the pursuit, which went on for the entire eight minutes of contest, the reigning champion came away hit only two or three times.

“It’s great to get the ball rolling” said Taylor. “The performance from the whole team has been brilliant so far. It’s been a great few days so far.

“It’s always kind of tricky getting the first one over and done with. It has been a long wait and it was good to get the lungs open again and get set up and get a good four rounds in.”

The Irish World Champion now meets Finland’s Mira Potkonen in a third round bout early on Thursday.

Earlier this morning

Michaela Walsh finally launched her World Championships in Jeju and recorded Ireland's second win in the competition following welterweight Claire Grace two days ago.

The Belfast 21-year-old forced her Jamaican opponent Sarah Joy-Rae to two standing counts in the fourth round before all of the judges handed her the unanimous decision (3-0). Walsh's win earned her a third round meeting on Thursday morning with Anna Alimardanova from Azerbaijan.

"You couldn't complain about that," said Irish coach Gerry Storey. "Control from the word go of the fight. After the first round she was listening to everything she was told. The thing about her is she tries it. She tried it and it paid off. That was a good win."

Walsh took full control of the bout after a first round where she took time to feel out her taller, rangy opponent. Rae's long jab was to be avoided but once that was diffused, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist went to work.

The second round was where Walsh took control of the fight, getting inside and landing a succession of clean shots in the dying seconds with a left forcing Rae backwards.

Unfortunately for the English born Jamaican, there was more to follow with Walsh becoming stronger and more dominant and in the third and fourth rounds, the referee stepping in twice to count Rae in the fourth, the second of those counts coming just five seconds from the end.

“She’s an awkward boxer,” said the Irish bantamweight. “I didn’t get started (fast) and couldn’t really get my punches off in the first round. I listened to Gerry and Zaur (Antia) in the corner and got the tactics and I felt the bout should have been stopped.

“Once I stepped it up and stuck to the tactics I really did feel I was at ease. I’m glad to get the first one out of the way.”