BOXING EUROPEAN WOMENS AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS: WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT champion Katie Taylor maintained a level of consistency rarely seen in an Irish athlete to claim a fourth European title in a row in the Ukraine yesterday.
The AIBA 2008 World female boxer of the year outclassed Turkish fighter Meryem Aslan Zeybek 11-0 in the 60kg final in Nikolaev City to preserve her continental dominance.
Yesterday’s victory was all the more impressive as the 23-year-old Bray woman did not concede a single point in the tournament, scoring 23 in her three fights en route to gold.
Taylor, who won European titles in 2005, ’06 and ’07 in Norway, Poland and Denmark, was 4-0 up when she stopped Kosovare Buzuku of Sweden in the first round and beat Denica Eliseeva of Bulgaria 8-0 in the semi-final last Friday.
The weekend’s win was her 38th victory in succession and her 63rd triumph in 64 international outings in the last four years.
Taylor’s Irish team-mate Sinéad Kavanagh also performed very well at her first major international tournament, only losing 3-2 to experienced Polish middleweight Lidia Fuduro in the last 16.
Commenting on her victory, Taylor, who had her dad Peter and Pat Ryan working her corner, said her next target was three-in-a-row at the 2010 World Championships in Barbados.
“I got a bye into the quarter-finals and I managed to avoid the Russian and the Ukrainian girl in my half of the draw. All the people that I considered a threat were on the other side of the draw, in fact.
“But Zeybek then beat the Russian and the Ukrainian and, fair play to her, she got to the final. But I found the final a lot easier than I expected, to tell the truth.
“I think there were few boxers out here that were a potential threat to my title but my dad and Pat Ryan got the tactics right for me and we took it from there.
“There was a great buzz out here all week. Women’s boxing has been on a high for the last few months since the Olympic announcement and the standard was very high at these championships.
“I’ll take a few weeks off now. The next big one is the World Championships in Barbados next year and my aim is to defend my title. To win three-in-a-row would be very special,” said Taylor.
The Wicklow native admitted she was deeply saddened to hear the news of Darren Sutherland’s tragic death in London last Monday.
She added: “I was absolutely devastated when I heard this news and I just couldn’t believe it. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
“When I was starting out with the Irish team, Darren was always there with little pieces of encouragement and advice. He was a fantastic boxer and a great Irish sportsman and he will be sadly missed.”
Meanwhile, Peter Taylor and Irish team manager Sadie Duffy were full of praise for their charge, who is also the reigning European Union champion.
Peter Taylor said: “We were a bit worried going into the final because the Turkish girl beat a Russian and a Ukrainian on her way to the final and that’s a very impressive achievement at this level.
“But Katie got off to a great start in the first round and she never looked back from that really. Fair play to the Turkish girl though, she surprised everyone by getting to the final.”
Duffy added: “Katie boxed superbly throughout the tournament and she totally deserves her win. I thought that Sinead did very well in her first major international tournament. It has been a great week for Irish amateur boxing.”
The Irish squad are due to arrive home through Dublin Airport via Budapest at 9pm tonight.)
EUROPEAN WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIPS:60Kg: Quarter-Final: Katie Taylor (Ireland) bt Kosovare Buzuku (Sweden) RSC (Round 1) (RSC = ref stops contest – Taylor was 4-0 up). Semi-Final: Taylor bt Denica Eliseeva (Bulgaria) 8-0. Final: Taylor bt Meryem Aslan Zeybek (Turkey) 11-0.
