Katie Taylor and advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2011 European Women’s Championships after recording a landslide 22-3 win over Italian lightweight Romina Marenda in Rotterdam today.
Also through is Ceire Smith who boxes out of the Cavan BC. She produced a stunning fightback , when trailing 8-4 versus 2010 European bronze medalist Csilla Nemedi in the fourth and final round.
But the Irish bantamweight rocked the Hungarian with a right hook straight out of the top drawer and the ref stopped the contest.
But there was double disappointment for Ireland in the light-flyweight and flyweight categories after Lynne McEnery and Katie Rowland lost.
McEnery, who was ahead after round one, was edged out 12-11 by Lynsey Holdaway of Wales and Rowland was retired at the end of the second versus England’s Nicola Adams.
The Leeds native, a gold medal winner at the 2011 European Union Championships and a two-time silver medallist at the AIBA World Senior Women’s Championships, was 7-0 up when Rowland was retired.
Taylor, who will meet Ayzanat Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan in the last-eight on Wednesday, was 6-1 ahead at the end of the first round today and forced Marenda into two standing counts in the second frame en route to commanding a 14-1 lead by the end of the round.
The Bray woman – the current AIBA World champion – added another eight points to her total in the final two rounds.
Kelly Harington, Michaela Walsh and Sinead Kavanagh will be in action later this afternoon.
Lauragh O’Neill has received a bye into the quarter-finals and will be in action tomorrow.
ends
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Katie Taylor and Sinead Kavanagh opened their European Championships accounts with impressive wins in Rotterdam, Holland.
51Kg: Katie Rowland (Geesala)
54Kg: Ciere Smith (Cavan)
57Kg: Michaela Walsh (Holy Family)
60Kg: Katie Taylor (Bray)
64Kg: Kelly Harrington (Corinthians)
69Kg: Laoise Traynor (Bray)
75kg: Sinead Kavanagh (Drimnagh)
81kg: Lauragh O’Neill (Paulstown)
Coaches: Pete Taylor, Zaur Antia, Damien Walsh
Physio: Mary Louise Ryan
