SPORTS
Nicola Adams beats Stoyka Petrova to reach semi-finals
Baku, June 22, AZERTAC
Nicola Adams, the first ever female Olympic Boxing champion, beat Bulgaria's Stoyka Petrova on Monday to progress to the semi-finals of the women's flyweight (48-51kg) competition at Baku 2015.
The British fighter, who won the flyweight title at the London 2012 Olympic Games, beat her old rival Petrova 2-0 at the Crystal Hall 2.
Two of the judges scored the bout 39-37 in Adams' favour, with the third judge having the fighters tied on 38-38.
"It's a shame this wasn't the final," said Adams. "But it will not affect me: I'm Nicola Adams, the Olympic champion, and every boxer I take on, I'll take on as though it was a final."
Adams will face Turkey's Elif Coskun in the semi-finals on Wednesday (24 June), after the Turk defeat Germany's Ornella Wahner 3-0, also on Monday.
The local crowd are likely to back the Turkish fighter, but Adams was unfazed at the prospect.
"I'm not sure if I boxed her before," said the Briton. "I'll box in front of a hostile crowd now, but I'll turn the boos into cheers at the end of the bout."
Adams beat Petrova in the quarter-finals at London 2012, but Petrova avenged the defeat at the same stage of last year's European championship in Bucharest.
Overall, Adams now holds an 9-1 career advantage over the Bulgarian.