Boxing: Josh Taylor falters in Trabzon

Boxer Josh Taylor came up short in Trabzon today at the Olympic qualifying tournament – but it was already mission accomplished for the Prestonpans man.

The 21-year-old had secured a place in the GB Olympic team at lightweight by reaching the semi-finals in the Turkish Black Sea city but yesterday he lost 13-10 to Vazgen Safaryants of Belarus and thus left the tournament with a bronze medal.

Taylor allowed his opponent to edge into a 4-3 lead at the end of the first round then upped the ante in the second only to earn a warning leaving the Scot with three points to make up in the final round. Taylor forced a standing count on his opponent but it wasn’t enough.

But team-mate Anthony Ogogo secured a place alongside Taylor in London when he became the seventh member of the squad to qualify. The middleweight boxer needed to reach the final in Trabzon and accomplished that with a convincing 14-7 victory over Vitalk Bandarenka of Belarus.