Nicola Adams faces foe Stoyka Petrova in flyweight quarter-finals
Friday 19 June 2015 15:08, UK
Nicola Adams will be aiming to set the record straight when she faces Stoyka Petrova in the quarter-finals of the European Games on Monday.
Adams is bidding to secure an unprecedented boxing treble In Baku after winning Olympic and Commonwealth gold medals.
However, the 32-year-old must first defeat Petrova - the only women to beat her since her historic victory at London 2012 – in the last eight on Monday.
Petrova knocked Adams out of the European Union Championships in Rotterdam last year but previously lost to the Briton in eight of their career meetings - including a unanimous verdict at a tournament in Spain last month.
Adams dominated Hungarian Katalin Ancsin in her opening flyweight bout on Friday to set up a showdown with the Bulgarian.
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"We boxed in Spain a couple of weeks ago and I had the upper hand against her, and I am hoping to improve on that performance,” said Adams.
"You have to go into every bout feeling confident. Each time I step into the ring I am thinking about winning that gold medal, and I assume everyone else is thinking the same thing."
Adams showed no ill effects from the shoulder surgery which kept her out of this year's World Championships as she dominated the three rounds against Ancsin.
She added: "I am feeling excellent - like 10 times better than I was last year. It was really hard boxing in a competition with an injured shoulder, and now I am back to my normal self."
The experienced Petrova was an equally convincing winner over Wassila Lkhadiri of France in the contest immediately preceding Adams.
The 29-year-old won a bronze medal at the 2011 European Championships in Rotterdam and is relishing the chance to have another shot at improving her record against the Olympic champion.
Petrova said: "She's the Olympic champion and the whole world knows she's a very strong opponent - but I know how to beat her."