CHAMPION! Katie Taylor Wins Fifth World Title

Katie Taylor was crowned Women's World Champion this morning when she overcame Azerbaijan's Yana Allekseevana to claim gold. The Irish boxer entered the ring just after 6.15am on Monday morning and faced off to Allekseevana in what was an exciting and well-contested lightweight final. The opening two rounds were extremely close as Katie tried to get an advantage over Allekseevana. It was in the third round when she managed to put space between them and held on into the final round to scoop the title. Katie led the way in the second on a scoreline of 20-19, 20-19, 19-19. Going into the third, the Azerbaijani looked to be struggling to catch her breath, and the Irish boxer took full advantage leading the way 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 going into the final round. The last round saw Katie really come into her own, securing the title on a scorecard of 40-36, 39-37, 39-37 Katie had a bit of an unusual route to the final, having received a bye in the first round she then went on to overcome the challenges of Valeria Spicer and Mira Potkonen which set up a tantalizing quarter final bout with rival, Sofya Ochigava. However, the Russian boxer and world number two - who Katie defeated in the fight for gold in London 2012 - gave the Irish boxer a walkover for the quarter final on Friday morning. This set up a semi-final showdown with China's Jinhua Yin, who Katie faced off to early on Sunday morning. Coming off the back of an extra day's rest thanks to the quarter-final walkover, Katie met a tough competitor in Yin. However, Katie secured her spot in the final on Monday as the Chinese boxer threw in the towel after the third round and Katie went through on a technical knock out. After the close final, Katie was crowned world champion - securing her fifth world championship title.