European-Hungry Taylor battles into quarter-finals

By Tom Hayward BAKU, June 21 (Reuters) - Ireland's Olympic boxing champion Katie Taylor reached the European Games quarter-finals on Sunday and said she was hungrier than ever to add another major title to her glittering collection. Lightweight Taylor -- an Olympic, five-times world and six-times European champion -- is among the leading names across all of the 20 sports in the Azeri capital of Baku. In front of a strong contingent of vocal Irish support at the atmospheric Crystal Hall, Taylor registered a unanimous points decision over Bulgarian Denitsa Eliseeva to reach the quarter-finals at the inaugural games. "I'm more hungry now than I ever was," she told reporters. "I want to leave a great legacy behind me and I want to continue to win major championships. "It's just such a privilege to be representing my country again in such a big competition. The first fight is always hard in every competition just to get the ball rolling. "I think in the next fight I'll be a lot sharper but you just need to blow out in the first fight and get it out of the way. "I've boxed that girl a few times before and she's such a top boxer. It was a great performance and I'm delighted. She's a great warrior and I'm just delighted to be through to the quarter-finals." At 28, Taylor has already cemented her place as a great of the sport and will again be the woman to beat in what is a strong division. "I think it's the same for every competition, I think there's pressure on me in every competition and it's no different here." Earlier on Sunday, dangerous Frenchwoman Estelle Mossely progressed comfortably while Russia's Zinaida Dobrynina was particularly impressive in advancing to the last eight. Dobrynina, 24, is a potential semi-final opponent for Taylor and the Irish fighter said the emergence of a new generation of female boxers was fuelling her motivation. "It's always great to have new challenges," she added. "I think I have a lot to prove to some of those younger boxers. I'd love to stamp my authority on some of those young boxers coming up as well. "But it's so great to see so many young female boxers coming through and the talent is outstanding out there." Taylor will face Sweden's Ida Lundblad, 19, in Wednesday's quarter-final. Ends (Reporting by Tom Hayward)