Image source, Getty ImagesKatie Taylor won Olympic gold in 2012
ByKal SajadBBC Sport boxing journalist at Croke Park, Dublin
Katie Taylor ended her illustrious career as a three-time undisputed world champion as Croke Park gave one of Ireland’s greatest sporting figures the grandest of farewells on a night of celebration, spectacle and music.
The 40-year-old outclassed unbeaten Flora Pili on points in front of 80,000 jubilant fans to add the vacant WBC belt to her WBA, WBO and IBF light-welterweight titles.
With the footwork, speed and sharp pressure fighting that defined her career, Taylor produced one final stylish performance against the overmatched Frenchwoman to win by scores of 110-90, 110-90 and 98-91.
Promoter Eddie Hearn paid tribute to Taylor, calling her “Ireland’s greatest sportsperson”, before she took one final lap of the ring, waving to the crowd before ceremonially placing her gloves and belts in the centre of the canvas.
After almost a quarter of a century in the sport, Taylor – an Olympic champion, two-weight world champion and one of the pioneers of women’s professional boxing – finally got her fairytale ending at her dream venue.
She bows out with a record of 26 wins and just one defeat, but this was about more than one final result.
It was a night steeped in Irish pride, with a spine-tingling atmosphere and chart-topping pop group Westlife helping provide a fitting send-off.
Image source, Getty ImagesKatie Taylor was roared on by over 80,000 fans at Croke Park
On an unforgettable night for the city, around 80 per cent of those inside Croke Park had never previously attended a boxing event, but turned out to honour a fighter who dragged women’s sport from the margins and took an entire nation on her journey.
The crowd was the sixth largest recorded post-war attendance for a boxing event anywhere in the world. By early evening, the stands were awash with green and white, tricolours draped over shoulders.
Westlife performed ‘World of Our Own’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’, with tens of thousands joining in as phone lights flickered around the towering tiers of Croke Park.
The atmosphere softened for an a cappella version of ‘Grace’, the well-known Irish ballad linked to the 1916 Easter Rising, before the national anthem rang out.
Chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole” drowned out Pili’s ring-walk music before Taylor finally emerged to ‘All Hail King Jesus’, a nod to the faith she has spoken so openly about throughout her career.
She stretched her arms wide, sang along and tried to take in every second of her final walk to the ring. There was emotion on her face, but also the familiar focus as fireworks shot into the Dublin sky.
Taylor had spent fight week insisting there was still a job to do, but even for a fighter who had sold out Madison Square Garden and performed on some of boxing’s grandest stages, it was hard to imagine her being untouched by a reception like this.
After a quiet opener, Taylor – Olympic champion at London 2012 and a professional since 2016 – burst into life in the second round, firing quick combinations before darting back out of range.
She repeatedly beat Pili to the punch, working in bursts and making the most of the two-minute rounds.
Pili, 29, arrived unbeaten in 12 contests and had previously held the European title. With little expectation on her shoulders, she had everything to gain.
But she had never faced anyone remotely close to Taylor’s level and the gulf in class soon began to show.
The party atmosphere continued between rounds as it became increasingly clear there would be no gatecrashing from the Frenchwoman.
Former world champion Prince Naseem Hamed and UFC star Paddy Pimblett watched from ringside as Pili swung wildly in the fifth, only for Taylor to make her miss and fire back.
Pili enjoyed her best spell in the seventh, a quick flurry briefly snapping Taylor’s head back, but it did little to alter the direction of the fight.
Croke Park rose for the final two minutes as Taylor continued to press forward, letting her hands go while the noise poured down from the stands.
She embraced her mother, trainer and manager in the ring as ‘Celebration’ rang around Croke Park before the inevitable result was read out.
“Let me just look around for a second”, she said afterwards, soaking up every ounce of the reception.
Taylor has been unequivocal that Croke Park would be the end and she walks away having beaten every opponent she faced as a professional.
Her only defeat came against Chantelle Cameron in Dublin in 2023. Six months later, Taylor returned to the 3Arena and avenged it to become undisputed champion in a second weight division.
After the final bell, she paid tribute to her family and somehow held the tears back as she spoke to the crowd.
“There’s nothing like an Irish mammy,” she said, smiling as she thanked those closest to her.
For a fighter who has never hidden her dislike of media interviews, there was something striking about the confidence with which she walked around the ring, microphone in hand, soaking up the final moments.
Taylor will forever be defined by her trilogy wins against Amanda Serrano and leaves with a staggering list of accolades, but her true impact cannot be measured in statistics alone.
That legacy belongs to the young girl who once pretended to be a boy just to box when girls were not allowed.
She fought tirelessly to get the sport sanctioned in Ireland and included in the Olympics, before going on to conquer both the amateur and professional codes.
The belts will eventually gather dust, but the trail Taylor blazed across the sport will never fade.
