IRELAND’S KATIE TAYLOR will defend her Olympic title in Rio after she clinched qualification this afternoon.
The reigning lightweight champion hardly put a foot wrong as she beat Mexico’s Victoria Torres in the quarter-finals at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Astana.
The win takes Taylor one step closer to a sensational sixth straight world title in the 60kg division.
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But just as importantly, it guarantees that she will take one of the four Olympic places up for grabs in Kazakhstan this week.
“Honored to be representing Ireland in another Olympics,” Taylor tweeted moments after leaving the ring. “It really is a dream come true.
“The support from everyone has been incredible!”
Honored to be representing Ireland in another Olympics. It really is a dream come true. The support from everyone has been incredible!
The gold medallist in London four years ago, Taylor’s Olympic bid suffered an unlikely setback when she was beaten by Yana Alekseevna at the European qualifiers last month — a shock first defeat since 2011.
But she was at her imperious best to win her make-or-break fight against Torres by 40-36 on all three of the judges’ cards.
Taylor and Alekseevna looked to be on a collision course and set to meet in Thursday afternoon’s semi-finals.
But the Azerbaijan boxer lost a unanimous decision as another familiar foe, Estelle Mossely of France, set up a rematch against Taylor in her place.
Taylor and Mossely last met in the final of the European Games last June, with Taylor taking gold on a unanimous decision.
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Rio, here I come! Katie Taylor has qualified for the Olympic Games
Updated 14.55
IRELAND’S KATIE TAYLOR will defend her Olympic title in Rio after she clinched qualification this afternoon.
The reigning lightweight champion hardly put a foot wrong as she beat Mexico’s Victoria Torres in the quarter-finals at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Astana.
The win takes Taylor one step closer to a sensational sixth straight world title in the 60kg division.
But just as importantly, it guarantees that she will take one of the four Olympic places up for grabs in Kazakhstan this week.
“Honored to be representing Ireland in another Olympics,” Taylor tweeted moments after leaving the ring. “It really is a dream come true.
“The support from everyone has been incredible!”
The gold medallist in London four years ago, Taylor’s Olympic bid suffered an unlikely setback when she was beaten by Yana Alekseevna at the European qualifiers last month — a shock first defeat since 2011.
But she was at her imperious best to win her make-or-break fight against Torres by 40-36 on all three of the judges’ cards.
Taylor and Alekseevna looked to be on a collision course and set to meet in Thursday afternoon’s semi-finals.
But the Azerbaijan boxer lost a unanimous decision as another familiar foe, Estelle Mossely of France, set up a rematch against Taylor in her place.
Taylor and Mossely last met in the final of the European Games last June, with Taylor taking gold on a unanimous decision.
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2016 Olympics Boxing Estelle Mossely Katie Taylor Rio 2016 Road to Rio Victoria Torres World Boxing Championships