Katie Taylor made it five wins from five as a professional boxer as she proved too powerful for German opponent Nina Meinke at Wembley Stadium tonight.
Fighting on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua heavyweight title clash with Wladimir Klitschko, Taylor dominated her opponent throughout and eventually stopped Meinke in the seventh round.
The constant barrage of Taylor’s attack finally proved too much for Meinke and the referee stepped in to call off the contest, deeming the German unable to defend herself.
Five years on from her London 2012 gold medal, Taylor returned to the city where she was crowned Olympic champion to fight at Wembley Stadium as part of the Sky Sports Box Office event, and the Bray native did not disappoint as she took control of the fight from the opening bell.
Taylor dominated the centre of the ring from the start of the scheduled ten rounder and was quick to land one of her trademark combinations with Meinke unable to respond with anything of note.
The German attempted to take the fight to Taylor in the second round with her potentially awkward southpaw stance, however, Taylor maintained great balance throughout the lively two-minute round and finished with pace and strength to take the second round.
Meinke bizarrely forgot her gumshield at the start of the third round but the delay proved little in the way of distraction for Taylor who maintained the fast pace and eased through the round to make it three from three with her opponent well and truly figured out by this stage of the contest.
The short two-minute rounds were proving beneficial to the German as Taylor was unable to really pin down her opponent, but the German was visibly tiring by the end of the fourth round and an accidental clash of heads opening up a gash above Meinke’s left eye that needed real attention at the break.
By this stage, Taylor was just going through her entire repertoire of shot selections as she worked the body, while also landing some impressive uppercuts amidst the many and varied combinations.
Rounds five and six also went the way of the five-time amateur world champion and by the seventh round, the referee had seen enough and was quick to step in to end the contest, with no real complaints from Meinke’s corner.
The fight proved Taylor’s fifth consecutive victory in the paid ranks, since making her professional debut last November. And tonight’s WBA Intercontinental belt victory hands Taylor a chance to now take on Cecilia Comunales from Uruguay who currently holds the WBA lightweight world title.
Taylor spoke after the fight about her intentions of unifying the division, and the Bray native certainly fired an early warning shot to the four belt holders with the facile victory back in London tonight.
