Katie Taylor through to last 8 after grinding win over Mira Potkonen

Katie Taylor took a step closer to defending her World title this morning as she won by unanimous decision against a gutsy competitor in Finland's Mira Potkonen.

It took some time for Taylor to settle into the first round, something that she also struggled with against Valerian Spicer on Tuesday, but she quickly found her rhythm and started making her opponent miss. In the second, Potkonen came out firing and was by far the more aggressive boxer in the first part of the round but Taylor's blocks and counters were up to par. Taylor finally started finding a home for her left hook as the round drew to a close. It was in the third and fourth rounds when the fluidity of Taylor shone through as she began to display her typically wonderful movement. While Potkonen may have been throwing more punches, it was the accuracy of Taylor that won her the fight. Taylor now goes through to the last 8 tomorrow where she will face Sofya Ochigava, an opponent with whom she shares a history. The Russian was once quoted as saying: "When you fight Katie you are already minus 10 points. You are fighting the judges and the whole system and they will try to give her too many points."