There were some doubts about her fitness and possibly the strength of her opponent and Katie Taylor blew them away with her opening few punches. So began the quest for a European Games gold medal and major championship title number 18.
Indeed Taylor's opening victory in Baku's Crystal Hall couldn't have been much smoother, as she took out her old lightweight rival Denista Eliseeva from Bulgaria – the last boxer to actually defeat Taylor, in 2011, albeit in highly dubious circumstances.
There no disputing the decision this time. More importantly, no sign either of any lingering effects of the wrist injury Taylor sustained when winning a fifth successive World title in Jeju, South Korea last November.
This was Taylor’s first proper contest since, and she fairly well cruised through. At 34, Eliseeva may be a little past her best, although she wouldn’t have feared Taylor either. She certainly made Taylor fight hard for the win, although the punching from the Bulgarian was at times scrappy, or simply off target.
No such worries for Taylor, who took the first round, 30-27, and then the second – also 30-27 – after landing a brilliant right hand on Eliseeva in the last 10 seconds. She then piled on the combination shots in the third round, and won that too (30-27). The Bulgarian needed to work some magic in the last two minute round, and instead she appeared to tire, and Taylor took the last round too, 30-27, to get the unanimous 3-0 decision from the judges.
There was a warm embrace from Eliseeva, and that was that. Next up for Taylor is Sweden’s Ida Lundbald in the last eight, on Tuesday (8.45am irish time), and another victory there will guarantee the Bray fighter at least a bronze. Not that she’s come all the way to the far side of Europe just for that.
Earlier, Michael O'Reilly set up his middleweight quarter-final bout – and so another minimum bronze medal fight – when he comfortably took out Emir Sabotic from Montenegro, on a unanimous decision, 3-0.
The 22 year-old from Portlaoise was supremely calm and in control throughout, and certainly won’t fear his next opponent, the 21-year-old Aljaz Venko from Slovenia, that bout set for Wednesday (9.15 am Irish time). O’Reilly has already won a silver medal at last year’s European Union Championships – his first international tournament – and appears to be growing in confidence, particularly spending so much time around the Irish boxing camp.
"Yeah, I felt very relaxed in there, just doing my best to hit, and not get him. My next one is against the Slovenian. He's a fighter, so I'll wait for the tactics from Billy Walsh, and see what he wants me to do.
“We’ll get a tape of him, see how he boxes, and hopefully it works out. It will be phenomenal, to get a medal out here. It would be something quite special, so I’ll look forward to it. And when you see so many of your team-mates doing well, that gives you encouragement, to get in there and win as well.”
