Katie Taylor found herself in a battle in Jeju in the round of 16 at the Women's World Championships but out fought Finland's Mira Potkonen to win on a unanimous decision to go through to the quarterfinals.
The defending champion now meets Russia’s Sofya Ochigava, who won her match against Brazil’s Adriana Santos, a repeat of the Olympic Games, where Ochigava won silver and Santos bronze. Ochigave won the bout on a split decision.
There was disappointment for Belfast bantamweight Michaela Walsh, who lost out on a split decision against Azerbaijan's Anna Almardanova, which leaves just Taylor as the only Irish competitor left in the draw from an team of four.
Big punching from both
It was a bruising fight for the defending champion Taylor against an opponent she knew well. Potkonen, who met Taylor in one of her recent shows in Bray, came to fight and from the first round brought the fight to Taylor. But the champion didn’t hold back and met the Finish girl with equal ferocity and a lot more speed.
There was big punching from both but Taylor was scoring with her strong left back hand. On occasions the fight went toe to toe, especially at the beginning of the second round and in the fourth Potkonen landed a right as Taylor slipped.
The Fin would have claimed it as a knock down but not Taylor, or the judges.
Toe to toe
The Irish Olympic champion admitted afterwards that she was drawn into a battle but she won the feisty contest on all of the judge’s cards, her speed, technique, power and ultimately fitness all coming through at the end.
“Every time I’ve boxed that girl and I’ve boxed her two times before, it has always been a physical battle,” said the Olympic champion.
“But I was well prepared for the fight. The first 30 seconds of the second round was a complete war. I should have moved a bit more but sometimes you just get caught into a fight.
“I probably could have made it easier for myself but standing toe to toe as well is always enjoyable. It was a tough four rounds. She came here to win. She is always up for the challenge. That’s what made it a great fight. It was a hard fought victory.”
Heartbreak for Walsh
A devastated Wash departed when her cagey fight against the counter punching Alimardanova split the judges. Her opponent was content to drop off and snatch points as Walsh pushed forward.
The referee had to tell the two to box in the first round but the entire eight minutes was about Walsh stalking Alimardanova and trying to land shots, her southpaw opponent content to score in the limited exchanges.
Walsh picked up the tempo in the final round and brought the bout to a more aggressive end but it fell just short for two of the three judges, the Azerbaijan fighter going through on two of the cards.
