KATIE STRIKES GOLD AGAIN!
KATIE TAYLOR claimed a sixth successive European title in Bucharest yesterday, defeating her French opponent Estelle Mosseley in the Lightweight final of the Women’s European Championships.
It was a comfortable win for Taylor, who had previously beaten Mossely last July in the European Union final. Following an impressive display, the Bray native received a unanimous decision from all three judges.
The 28-year-old has now held the belt for nine years, going on a run of 23 straight wins in Europe since her first success in Norway in 2005.
Mossely seemed to have been in control in the opening round, although Taylor managed to recover and was rarely troubled for the remainder of the fight. The small Irish contingent who had made the journey became increasingly vocal as the fight continued, particularly as Taylor hit Mossely with a flurry of head shots in the final round.
On her path to the final, Taylor had overcome Bulgarian fighter Denista Eliseeva in the semi-finals. Eliseeva is the last person to have beaten Taylor, back in 2011. In the other semifinal, Mossely had progressed against Russia’s Sofya Ochigava.
Speaking after the fight, Taylor said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted, and the best thing about it is that the best is yet to come.
‘I have the world championships this year, I have the Olympics, hopefully, in a couple of years, as well. I plan to defend all those titles. My team-mates are absolutely brilliant.
‘They produced amazing performances this week, and I’m so, so proud to be in the same team as them, and their support this week has been outstanding.’
Yesterday’s victory means that Taylor has now secured 16 straight major titles.