KATIE TAYLOR CLAIMS she is enjoying her busy fight calendar, with the former Olympic champion comparing her hectic schedule to that of a throwback fighter following her fourth pro win in a little over four months.
The Bray native dominated her lightweight (135lbs) bout against former world-title challenger Milena Koleva at Manchester Arena last night, claiming a comprehensive 80-72 verdict after an eight-round fight.
That was the first time Taylor has boxed over that distance, with her three previous paid contests being scheduled six-rounders, although all but one of those — December’s points victory over Brazilian Viviane Obenauf — finished early.
The win came just three weeks after the 30-year-old’s stoppage victory over Italian Monica Gentili in London, while Taylor is back in action at Wembley on the 29 April undercard of Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title defence against Wladimir Klitschko, before a likely US fight date in summer.
“It’s great that I’m staying busy, I love the fact that I’m staying busy. I feel like one of the old-time boxers, boxing nearly every week,” said Taylor, whose trainer Ross Enamait gave a positive review of the dominant win over Koleva after the Irishwoman put her opponent down in the seventh round with a right hook following a flurry of punches.
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“She got eight rounds in and a legitimate knockdown. She hurt her [Koleva] pretty good, so it was a solid win,” said the Vernon-based trainer, whose words of encouragement helped to ease Taylor’s disappointment over failing to record her third stoppage win in four outings.
Boxing on the undercard of Jorge Linares’ successful world lightweight title defence against Anthony Crolla, Taylor dominated all eight two-minute rounds.
Koleva, a 28-year-old, whose record now reads 9-8-1, proved to be a stubborn if limited opponent and the ex-MMA fighter stood up to a number of spiteful shots from Taylor even after hitting the canvas from a right hook.
“Obviously I would have loved to get the stoppage, but speaking to Ross and Brian [Peters, manager] afterwards, I was delighted to get the eight rounds,” said Taylor. “It was a great experience for me and it will do me a world of good later on this year.
“She [Koleva] was obviously a durable girl and it was a good step up for me as well. Obviously when you are in there you are always looking for the stoppage, but you can’t really buy that experience,” added the five-time world amateur champion.
The decision to box over eight rounds was a clear indication of Team Taylor’s intention to build towards the 12-round championship distance as promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that a September world title shot in Dublin is their main aim for 2017.
“The eight rounds will do me the world of good. If I’m looking for world titles later this year I’m going to be in a few tough battles,” said the Bray woman, who clearly paced herself at times in between picking off the tough Koleva.
That was a promising sign as she adapts to the paid game, although her failure to find a finishing shot may once again raise questions about her power.
Lawrence Lustig / INPHO
Lawrence Lustig / INPHO / INPHO
“Obviously when I felt I had her in trouble I jumped in a bit,” she continued. “This is all an experience and I’m learning every time. I probably still have a few bad habits from the amateur game as well that I have to work on. I have to obviously plant my feet a bit more and look for that big power shot rather than go for six or five punch combinations.
“But it is a big learning curve and I feel like I am learning in every fight,” added Taylor, who prepared at trainer Enamait’s Connecticut base following her stoppage win over Italian Monica Gentili just three weeks ago in London.
“I definitely felt in great shape going into the fight, I was getting great sparring over in the States,” added the 30-year-old.
“I was doing eight three-minute rounds with 30-second breaks sometimes during those spars as well, so I’m always well prepared going into these fights,” said Taylor, who joked that she nearly gassed in an effort to overwhelm her 28-year-old opponent.
“I think I nearly punched myself out at one stage when I was trying to stop her,” she laughed.
Katie admits 'bad habits' need work as she edges closer to world title territory
Ciarán Gallagher reports from Manchester
KATIE TAYLOR CLAIMS she is enjoying her busy fight calendar, with the former Olympic champion comparing her hectic schedule to that of a throwback fighter following her fourth pro win in a little over four months.
The Bray native dominated her lightweight (135lbs) bout against former world-title challenger Milena Koleva at Manchester Arena last night, claiming a comprehensive 80-72 verdict after an eight-round fight.
That was the first time Taylor has boxed over that distance, with her three previous paid contests being scheduled six-rounders, although all but one of those — December’s points victory over Brazilian Viviane Obenauf — finished early.
The win came just three weeks after the 30-year-old’s stoppage victory over Italian Monica Gentili in London, while Taylor is back in action at Wembley on the 29 April undercard of Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title defence against Wladimir Klitschko, before a likely US fight date in summer.
“It’s great that I’m staying busy, I love the fact that I’m staying busy. I feel like one of the old-time boxers, boxing nearly every week,” said Taylor, whose trainer Ross Enamait gave a positive review of the dominant win over Koleva after the Irishwoman put her opponent down in the seventh round with a right hook following a flurry of punches.
“She got eight rounds in and a legitimate knockdown. She hurt her [Koleva] pretty good, so it was a solid win,” said the Vernon-based trainer, whose words of encouragement helped to ease Taylor’s disappointment over failing to record her third stoppage win in four outings.
Boxing on the undercard of Jorge Linares’ successful world lightweight title defence against Anthony Crolla, Taylor dominated all eight two-minute rounds.
Koleva, a 28-year-old, whose record now reads 9-8-1, proved to be a stubborn if limited opponent and the ex-MMA fighter stood up to a number of spiteful shots from Taylor even after hitting the canvas from a right hook.
“Obviously I would have loved to get the stoppage, but speaking to Ross and Brian [Peters, manager] afterwards, I was delighted to get the eight rounds,” said Taylor. “It was a great experience for me and it will do me a world of good later on this year.
“She [Koleva] was obviously a durable girl and it was a good step up for me as well. Obviously when you are in there you are always looking for the stoppage, but you can’t really buy that experience,” added the five-time world amateur champion.
The decision to box over eight rounds was a clear indication of Team Taylor’s intention to build towards the 12-round championship distance as promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that a September world title shot in Dublin is their main aim for 2017.
“The eight rounds will do me the world of good. If I’m looking for world titles later this year I’m going to be in a few tough battles,” said the Bray woman, who clearly paced herself at times in between picking off the tough Koleva.
That was a promising sign as she adapts to the paid game, although her failure to find a finishing shot may once again raise questions about her power.
“Obviously when I felt I had her in trouble I jumped in a bit,” she continued. “This is all an experience and I’m learning every time. I probably still have a few bad habits from the amateur game as well that I have to work on. I have to obviously plant my feet a bit more and look for that big power shot rather than go for six or five punch combinations.
“But it is a big learning curve and I feel like I am learning in every fight,” added Taylor, who prepared at trainer Enamait’s Connecticut base following her stoppage win over Italian Monica Gentili just three weeks ago in London.
“I definitely felt in great shape going into the fight, I was getting great sparring over in the States,” added the 30-year-old.
“I was doing eight three-minute rounds with 30-second breaks sometimes during those spars as well, so I’m always well prepared going into these fights,” said Taylor, who joked that she nearly gassed in an effort to overwhelm her 28-year-old opponent.
“I think I nearly punched myself out at one stage when I was trying to stop her,” she laughed.
Dominant Katie Taylor earns fourth straight win as pro
Jorge Linares outclasses Anthony Crolla to retain title
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