KATIE TAYLOR EARNED a comfortable win over Holland’s Jessica Belder at the National Stadium in Dublin last night, in the first of two encounters between the fighters.
The World and European champion was 17-3 ahead after three rounds, before eventually winning in comprehensive fashion, 25-5.
The outcome still represented a slight improvement for Belder, who was defeated 21-1 by Taylor last year.
They are now set to meet for a third time on Sunday. And Taylor will have two more fights thereafter in the coming weeks, before taking part in a training camp in Ukraine, and then travelling to China in May as part of her attempt Olympic Qualification bid.
In the evening’s other encounters, Michelle Lynch, Dervla Duffy, Sarah Close and Claire Grace all secured victories against Dutch opponents, while Christine Gargan and Sinead Kavanagh were both defeated.
The second round of fights between the two nations takes place this Sunday.
