Katie Taylor closed her career on September 5 with a unanimous points win over France’s Flora Pili at Croke Park in Dublin. The victory made her a three-time undisputed world champion, and it was the first defeat of Pili’s professional career. All three judges had Taylor clear, at 100-90, 100-90 and 98-91.
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Taylor took the vacant WBC super-lightweight belt and added it to the WBA, IBF and WBO titles she already held. She also collected the IBO belt from Pili. She was 40, and she had announced beforehand that this would be her last fight. That age made her the oldest boxer, male or female, to become undisputed champion, passing the mark Bernard Hopkins set at 39.
How big was the crowd?
The Guardian and Sky Sports both put the crowd at 80,000. Promoter Eddie Hearn, speaking on DAZN after the bout, gave a higher figure of 83,000. Tickets had gone within half an hour of going on sale, according to Irish Boxing.
The venue carried its own history. Croke Park is the headquarters of the GAA, and no top-level boxing had been staged there since Muhammad Ali beat Al “Blue” Lewis in 1972.
What the fight looked like
Sky Sports described Taylor outclassing Pili across all 10 rounds. Pili, 29, mounted a short rally late on, The Independent reported, but Taylor never looked troubled. In the final 10 seconds Taylor threw everything at her opponent, then smiled and hugged her at the bell.
Afterwards, Hearn handed Taylor her gloves. She walked the ring alone to thank the fans, then left the gloves at its centre, and her team laid her belts around them.
What Taylor said
She called it the highlight of her whole career. She ranked the night above her London 2012 gold, her Madison Square Garden headliner and her first fight with Amanda Serrano.
Taylor told the crowd she did not know of another country that would sell 80,000 tickets for a female athlete. She also spoke about the harder moments the Irish public had watched, naming the Rio Olympics and her loss to Chantelle Cameron.
Hearn went further than she did. He called her the greatest Irish sportsperson of all time and credited the whole nation with getting her there.
Where she started
Taylor began boxing when girls were barred from amateur competition in Ireland, and she sometimes entered bouts as “K Taylor”. The Independent wrote that she had to pretend to be a boy when she first boxed. She won Olympic lightweight gold at London 2012, the Games where women’s boxing made its debut, and turned professional four years later.
She finishes with 26 professional wins and one defeat, with world titles at lightweight and super-lightweight. Her husband is based in Connecticut, and Sky Sports reported that she is open to staying in Irish boxing if he agrees to move.
