Katie eases past Jessica in WBA title fight

LONDON: Katie Taylor successfully defended her WBA lightweight title for the first time with a comfortable points win over Jessica McCaskill.

The Irish sensation was dragged into an ugly war but the scorecards looked pretty with 97-92, 97-92 and 98-91 in her favour.The 31-year-old instantly dictated the pace and keeping the American challenger at range with a left hook lashed out every time she felt threatened.

Quick-fire one-twos ensured the first round for the Bray star who took this fight after some social media goading from McCaskill.The scrappy opening six minutes needed a couple of interventions from referee Howard Foster for holding and rabbit punches.

And Taylor – enjoying her eighth pro fight - dropped to the canvas for the first time but it was a tangle of feet and slip that went unpunished by the officials.Round 3 was a pain for Taylor who was warned again for holding and then caught with a right hand that jolted her head backwards.

McCaskill, 33, was determined to make the fight ugly to limit the time and skill Taylor would have to show off her superior skills.The fourth was a dream for the Olympic golden girl with two early power shots finding their mark and a flurry threatening the challenger, known as Caskilla.

Taylor was confident enough to finish the round with her hands at her waist, ignoring the jab and firing out straight right hands.McCaskill – a two-time Golden Gloves winner – was made to look amateur at times with Taylor’s movement making her miss wildly. A fifth-round right hook spurred on the engrossed crowd and at the halfway point Taylor was already well ahead and coasting through the halfway point.Round 7 was seminal, Taylor looked shaken and leaned back on the ropes and beckoned her rival on to hit her with more punishment and she lost a point for holding.