Hi °C | Lo °C 
Katie Taylor brought the house down once again as Ireland's boxing heroine charged into the Olympic lightweight final with a 17-9 win over Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva at a raucous ExCeL.
The Bray warrior proved too strong and too clever for Chorieva, the former world bronze medallist, opening a three-point gap at the end of round one and extending it throughout with a mixture of accurate aggression and crisp back-foot counters.
Roared every second by another mighty Irish contingent inside the 10,000 capacity venue, Taylor finished strongly to put the result beyond doubt and set up a Thursday Olympic final against Russia's Sofya Ochigava.
Afterwards, Taylor revealed she expected to sleep for only two hours prior to the final and wished she could have another day of rest before a career already steeped in four world titles is topped by its crowning moment.
Taylor said: "It's amazing to box for the gold medal tomorrow. I wouldn't mind the day off, but that's just because I'm lazy. I have trouble getting sleep before a big fight but I'll still manage to get a couple of hours in.
"The support has been incredible. Hopefully there will be a lot of young girls sitting at home watching this, and they will realise that this is something they can work towards. It is amazing for women's boxing."
