AMATEUR BOXING:Ireland's World and European lightweight champion Katie Taylor racked up another convincing victory after she stopped Katie Dunn inside the first round of a light welterweight bout before the men's World Championships finals at the University of Illinois in Chicago on Saturday night.

Taylor, who claimed her third European 60kg title on the trot last month, stopped the Canadian three-time Pan American Games champion on the 15-point rule (15-0).

Taylor and Dunn were using the 63kg bout to promote women's boxing as an Olympic sport.Women's boxing has been ruled out for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but is strongly tipped to make its debut at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Meanwhile, Frankie Gavin, who has family ties in Tipperary, claimed England's first ever gold medal in Chicago on Saturday night. The Birmingham lightweight convincingly beat Italian Dominico Valentino - who had defeated Ireland's Eric Donovan in the last 16.

China's Shiming Zou, who beat Ireland's Paddy Barnes in the quarter-final on Friday, retained his world light flyweight title following a classy, 17-3 win over Harry Tanamor of the Philippines.

Fours boxers who beat Irish opponents in earlier rounds - Zou, Valentino, Venezuela's Alfonso Blanco and Russian Rakhim Chakhkiev - were competing in Saturday's finals, but only Zou won.

The Irish squad will arrive home today.

There will be two final Olympic qualifying tournaments for European boxers in Italy (Pescara) and Greece (Athens) in February and April next year.