Sparring with the enemy- Taylor’s London 2012 rival to help with preparation for Worlds

Katie Taylor will renew acquaintances with an old foe over the coming weekend.

The Bray BC puncher is set to spar the fighter she beat to win historic London 2012 gold in preparation for the World Championships..

Sofya Ochigava, who is set to turn professional, will arrive in Dublin this weekend and play a part in an Elite training camp.

Taylor, whose Olympic final was a cagey encounter between orthodox and southpaw punchers, lost to for the first time in five years, at the recent Olympic Qualifying tournament in Turkey.

Yana Alekseevna inflicted that defeat on the Irish sporting legend  denying the Irish and World champion an automatic place in RIO in the process.

Taylor and the team noted her defeaters style was similar to south paw Ochigava and as result they sought out the Russian for sparing this month in a bid to prepare for a World tilt and final Olympic qualifying bid.

Speaking to the Irish Times last week Ireland’s golden girl said

“Yeah it’s very, very similar. I think they all model themselves on Ochigava those southpaws,” said Taylor.

“We are hoping to get Ochigava over for a bit of sparring in the next few weeks. We’ve been in touch with her and her coach. It would be great to get a bit of sparring with her.

“We’ve made that request. I don’t know if Ochigava is going to the World Championships. Apparently she is going pro but I’m not sure. Obviously if she’s going to the World Championships I won’t be bringing her over so . . . but it would be great to get that quality of sparring in.”

The IABA confirmed this morning that Ochigava will indeed be over to spar Taylor this week and next week.