Katie Taylor bid an emotional farewell to boxing as the Irish icon dominated Flora Pili in the final fight of her storied career at a packed out Croke Park on Saturday. The 40-year-old stormed to a unanimous decision victory to clinch the vacant WBC super-lightweight belt and bow out as a three-time undisputed world champion with 84,000 fans in attendance at Dublin’s historic sporting home. Taylor, an Olympic champion and two-weight undisputed champion, hangs up her gloves widely-recognised as the greatest female boxer in history and a game-changing pioneer for women’s sport. It marked the first boxing event to be held at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali fought Al “Blue” Lewis on July 19, 1972.
Taylor’s win over Pili sees her retire with a professional record of 26-1 having suffered the only blemish of her career in defeat to Chantelle Cameron in May 2023. “Croke Park, we did it, we brought boxing back to Croke Park,” Taylor told DAZN after the fight. “Every one of you here helped me win. You were with me in London 2012, you got me through the heartbreak of Rio, you stayed with me when I turned pro, you travelled around the world to watch me, now you’re here with me.
“I don’t know of any other country that would sell 80,000 tickets, Ireland is the only country. “She was a very awkward opponent and a great opponent. Thank you very much to her for being involved in this epic night.” A night of celebration was capped by a typically-commanding Taylor display, one final clinic of blistering hand speed, elite footwork and ring IQ proving too much for Pili. Time and time again Taylor unloaded with slick combinations to out-work and out-manoeuvre her French opponent, who struggled to find joy with her counter-shot approach.
As the final round arrived Taylor sought to deliver one closing show, filling the dying seconds with a relentless attack before embracing Pili at the final bell. It was a fitting, perfect conclusion to a trailblazing career, Taylor not only transforming boxing but asserting herself as perhaps the greatest sportsperson in Irish history. The Bray Bomber has been instrumental in catapulting women’s boxing in prominence on the modern sporting landscape, paving the way for a thriving female fighting scene. Taylor became Ireland’s first female Olympic boxing champion at London 2012 when she beat Russia’s Sofya Ochigava in the lightweight gold medal bout.
She turned professional in 2016 after compiling an amateur record of 176-12-1 before becoming the WBA lightweight world champion in just her seventh contest. In June 2019 she became undisputed lightweight world champion after defeating Delfine Persoon by majority decision at Madison Square Garden. Taylor returned to make history at the MSG three years later as she and Puerto Rican great Amanda Serrano staged the first ever women’s boxing fight to headline at the iconic New York venue. It would mark the beginning of a landmark trilogy between the pair, Taylor winning on all three occasions.
Her first career defeat arrived in May 2023 when she stepped up to super-lightweight to face Cameron, losing by majority decision before winning the rematch with the same outcome six months later to become a two-weight undisputed champion. In the moments that followed her final hand-raise Taylor afforded herself a moment to look around and absorb the sight of a stunning sold-out Croke Park, before being serenaded again by a roar that barely faded all evening. As is boxing tradition, she would then lay down her gloves in the middle of the ring before members of her team followed with each of her six championship belts, a lap of honour following as she said her final goodbye.
