The Last Dance Starts Now
Right then. Fight week. The one Irish boxing has been counting down to since the Croke Park farewell was announced back in June. On Saturday night, Katie Taylor walks out at Croke Park in front of 80,000 people — the biggest crowd ever assembled for a women's boxing match — and calls time on the greatest career the sport of women's boxing has ever seen. Katie Taylor at Croke Park. Say it out loud. It still doesn't sound real.
Standing in the way of the perfect ending is Flora Pili, an unbeaten 29-year-old Frenchwoman who holds the IBO belt and has made it very clear she has not travelled to Dublin to wave Taylor off into the sunset. Taylor's WBA, WBO and IBF super lightweight titles are on the line, and the vacant WBC belt is up for grabs too — win, and Katie Taylor leaves the sport as undisputed champion at 140 pounds. Croke Park, undisputed, goodbye. You could not write it better.
Don't Sleep On Pili
Make no mistake, Pili is not a hand-picked farewell opponent. Unbeaten fighters with belts do not stay unbeaten by accident, and the French champion is younger, fresher and completely without pressure. Every burden in this fight — the occasion, the crowd, the ending — sits on Taylor's shoulders. We have seen big-occasion fights turn awkward before, and if Pili gets a fast start in front of a nervous stadium, Saturday gets uncomfortable quickly.
What Taylor Still Does Better Than Anyone
But let's not beat around the bush — there are levels to this game, and Taylor has operated above them for twenty years. The hand speed has slowed a touch, the wars with Chantelle Cameron and Amanda Serrano took their toll, but the ring brain is untouched. Taylor manages distance, steals rounds late, and wins the minutes that matter. Championship rounds in front of a home crowd at Croke Park? That is her office.
Luke's Verdict
Pili is live early — I'll give her three, maybe four rounds of genuine success while the occasion swallows the stadium. Then Taylor settles, the jab starts landing and the class takes over. Taylor on points, clear on all three cards, and the belts go home with her one last time. If you know, you know — legends write their own endings. Catch the full card details on our fight cards page, with the fight live on DAZN worldwide and RTE in Ireland.