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Katie Taylor will aim to win Ireland’s first gold medal in boxing in 20 years this afternoon when she competes in the final of the women’s lightweight category at London 2012.

The nation will come to a standstill as Taylor takes on Russia’s Sofya Ochigava at the ExCeL Arena at 4:45pm.

Thousands of people are expected to gather in Bray to watch the fight, which comes one day after the hometown hero sealed her route to the final with a stunning win over Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva .

The Russian has lost twice to Taylor in recent finals but will aim to make it third time lucky after her defeats at the 2011 European Championships and this year’s world championships. Ochigava expressed her concerns that the judges might favour the Irish boxer, saying that Taylor’s first round opponent Natasha Jonas suffered at the hands of the judges.

“She is one of the best, but she is just another boxer. In my opinion Natasha Jonas won the first two rounds against her, but the judges didn’t see it that way,” Ochigava said after beating Brazil’s Adriana Araujo 17-11 in her semi-final

“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.”

Regardless of her feelings towards the judges, Ochigava, who also reached the final in clinical fashion, will certainly be up against an Irish crowd who smashed the record for the loudest roar of the Games on Monday.

Katie who has been vividly struck by the atmosphere during her matches said “It’s amazing. To have a chance to box for a gold medal tomorrow is incredible. It’s incredible to have 10,000 Irish people screaming for you, it feels like I’m boxing at home in Dublin. Hopefully I can make everyone proud.”