Boxing: Katie Taylor has claimed her fifth successive 60kg European title with a 10-5 win in Rotterdam over Russia's Sofya Ochigava, an opponent she controversially lost to in March last year.
After the semi-finals of the Usti nad Labem Gran Prix in the Czech Republic, Taylor was disgusted to have lost 8-1 after a fight she felt she dominated, but there was no doubting the winner this evening.
The Bray woman was never troubled by the Russian, who controlled the centre of the ring for much of the bout but was consistently picked off when the pair traded punches.
It was a cagey start and twice in the opening two rounds the referee had to remind the pair to engage, but though she threw few punches, Taylor made them count.
She landed the only scoring shot in the first round, when she caught her opponent with a big right, but she could have easily scored more. Ochigava, too, looked to have landed one good shot.
In the second, Taylor extended her lead to three after counter-attacking well when backed into the corner and then coming off the better from an exchange in which her hand speed was too much for Ochigava.
It was feature of the fight. Taylor’s combinations were explosive and well-timed. She moved more than her opponent as the fight wore on and carefully chose her moment to strike, adding another six points to Ochigava’s four in the final two rounds.
Taylor, a three-time world champion, has not lost a significant fight at international championship level since 2005.