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Katie Taylor in boxing pose, charcoal portrait
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT

'40 Is The New 30' — Taylor's Final Open Workout Was A Farewell Dressed As A Training Session

Standing ovation on the way in, gloves laced on a ten-year-old girl on the way out. Katie Taylor's final public workout at The Helix on Wednesday told you everything about why Croke Park sold out in half an hour — and she says she picked Flora Pili on purpose. Luke on the last three sleeps.

By • September 3, 2026 By
  • Katie Taylor went through pad work with coach Ross Enamait at The Helix in Dublin on Wednesday in her final open workout before Saturday's Croke Park farewell against Flora Pili
  • Taylor, who turned 40 a few weeks ago, said '40 is the new 30' and insisted she chose the unbeaten, 11-years-younger Pili deliberately because she has built her reputation on tough fights
  • Luke's verdict: the sentiment is lovely but Saturday is a real fight — Taylor wins it on the cards, and the undercard heavyweight scrap between Thomas Carty and Dave Allen might steal the noise

A Standing Ovation Before A Single Punch

Right then, Wednesday night at The Helix in Dublin was not really a workout. It was a farewell with pads on. Katie Taylor walked out to a standing ovation before she had even stepped through the ropes, went seven minutes on the mitts with Ross Enamait while Celebration boomed out of the speakers, and then did the thing that will be remembered long after the fight itself: she pulled the ropes apart, let a ten-year-old girl into the ring, laced a glove onto her hand and sparred with her. Half the hall was in tears. If you know, you know.

Make no mistake, though, there is a fight on Saturday, and Taylor knows it better than anyone. "This isn't going to be a walk in the park," she said. "I purposely chose this tough challenge for my last fight." That is the bit the sentimental coverage keeps skipping past.

"40 Is The New 30"

Taylor turned 40 a few weeks ago and she was in the mood to laugh about it — "I think 40 is the new 30, isn't it?" — but the sharper line was the one about Pili. Flora Pili is 11 years younger, unbeaten in 12, ranked second at the weight by the WBC and the IBF, and she did not carry herself on Wednesday like a woman there to decorate somebody else's send-off. Six minutes of quiet shadow-boxing, red-white-and-blue braids, no smiles. She is in Dublin to win.

One Retirement Only

Taylor also had a gentle dig at the sport's serial retirees — she is not Tyson Fury, she says, and she will be retiring once. Given the week Fury has just had, the timing of that line was class.

The Undercard Might Steal The Noise

The loudest workout of the night was not Taylor's. Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty promised a "Carty Party" against Dave Allen and said there is no way on earth the Doncaster man wants it more than he does. Allen has been told by the whole of British boxing to make sure his corner keeps the towel on the hook this time. Eighty-two thousand Irish fans against Dave Allen in a heavyweight slugfest? That is a proper fight hiding on a farewell card.

Luke's Verdict

Let's not beat around the bush. The emotion is real, the legacy is real, and Pili is real too. But Taylor's ring IQ over ten two-minute rounds is still levels above anyone at 140, and the crowd will carry her through the two or three rounds where Pili's youth bites. Taylor by unanimous decision, a tear-soaked Croke Park, and the greatest career in Irish sport ends with her hand raised. Only the weigh-in at Trinity College is left. Full fight-night coverage on our news page.

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