Katie Taylor is through to her sixth European Championship final in succession. The Irish lightweight beat Bulgaria's Denista Eliseeva 3-0 to earn a meeting with Estelle Mossely from France. Mossely beat Russia's Sofya Ochigava to deny Taylor a repeat of the 2012 Olympic final.

Taylor was dominant from the first round using her jab effectively against a more aggressive Eliseeva. Scoring at will and moving out of range, Taylor won all four rounds of the bout mixing short sharp attacking moves with close in exchanges.

Never in trouble, it was a repeat of Taylor’s win over the Bulgarian in Castlebar last year, although probably more emphatic.

“It was a very tough fight,” said Taylor after the bout. “We knew that it was going to be like that. I was prepared for a tough fight but it’s fantastic that I’m in the final again. I have a chance now to defend my European title.

“She was definitely a lot more aggressive today. She’s also very physically strong so it was always going to be a real physical battle in there today.”

Irish hopes, though were dashed in the 69kg division where Clare Grace was beaten by an aggressive English fighter Stacey Copeland. The unanimous decision went to the vastly more experienced fighter, who is in her 30s, more than 10-years older than the 20-year-old who brings a bronze medal back to Ireland in her first European championships.

“I didn’t really know too much about her going in,” said Grace afterwards. “It was a really tough contest. No room for error. I’m very disappointed. I was going for gold but also happy to have gotten this far.”