BOXING:IRISH LIGHTWEIGHT Katie Taylor maintained one of the best records in world sport after claiming gold at the Russian Multi-Nations event at the Sports Palace in St Petersburg.
The World and European champion chalked up her 39th consecutive victory – and her 60th win in her last 61 bouts – after beating Russian lightweight Natalie Bondareva 6-3.
Bondereva was obliged to take two standing counts in the first round of Saturday’s 60Kg final.
Taylor, who boxes out of the Bray BC, also scooped the best technical boxer award. The win marks the fourth time in a row that the 23-year-old has beaten an opponent from the host nation. Taylor scored 59 points and conceded 20 in four bouts in four days in St Petersburg.
World amateur boxing chief Dr Ching Ku-Wu attended the tournament which was being used to send out a message to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympic in London.
And according to Taylor’s coach and dad Peter, who was working his daughter’s corner in Russia along with Pat Ryan, the feedback was very positive.
“We are quietly confident that women’s boxing will be included in the 2012 Olympic Games. We got a lot of positive feedback on the issue in St Petersburg,” said the coach.
“The International Olympic Committee were impressed with the quality of boxing at the tournament and so fingers crossed we will get positive news in the near future.”
The IOC are expected to make a final decision on women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympics at their executive board meeting in Berlin on August 13th.
Meanwhile, Beijing silver medalist Ken Egan set up a light heavyweight final with Darren Cruise next Friday night following a 12 -1 win over Denis Hogan at the Open Senior competition at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night.
Egan was 2-1 up in the second round of the weekend’s 81kg semi-final with Hogan before moving up a gear to register his second win in the space of 24 hours.
But while the nine-time Irish champion had his hands raised in victory, reigning European Union and Irish champions David Oliver Joyce and Declan Geraghty both crashed out at the last-four stage.
Joyce bowed out after being beaten 7-5 by Donegal featherweight Tyrone McCullagh and Geraghty went down 14-11 to Ruairi Dalton of the Holy Trinity club in Belfast.
World Youth champion Ray Moylette also exited following a 10-9 reversal to Irish lightweight champ Eric Donovan in a high-quality 60kg showdown.
Donovan was one of three St Michael’s Athy boxers to win on Saturday night.
