The Last Scale
Right then. It is here. Katie Taylor stood on the scales at Croke Park on Friday afternoon for the last time in her professional career and the number came back 139.6lbs. Across from her, Flora Pili made 139.9, unbeaten, unbothered, and clearly the bigger woman on the stage. The face-off was calm. There was no pushing, no shouting, none of the pantomime — just a 40-year-old legend looking through a 12-0 challenger who thinks she can spoil the biggest night in the history of Irish boxing. Make no mistake, tonight is enormous.
Taylor is 25-1 with six knockouts and she brings all four belts at 140 into the ring. Pili is 12-0 with two stoppages and she has never boxed anywhere near this level. Those numbers tell you most of what you need to know, but they do not tell you the whole story, because Taylor has been dragged into wars by fighters with far worse records than Pili's.
What The Weights Tell Us
Let's not beat around the bush. Taylor at 139.6 is a fighter who has made this weight comfortably for years. She looked lean, she looked sharp, and — this is the bit that matters — she looked relaxed, which at her final open workout on Wednesday was exactly the mood as well. Pili at 139.9 is a woman who has squeezed every ounce she is allowed to bring. She is taller, she is longer, and she will be the heavier fighter by fight time. If she has a route into this, it is on the front foot, using that size to walk Taylor down the way Chantelle Cameron did the night she took the belts in 2023.
The Cameron Blueprint
That first Cameron fight is the reference point. Cameron was strong, she was relentless, and she made Taylor fight every second of every round. Taylor lost on the cards and then went back, changed the plan, and beat her twice. Pili does not have Cameron's engine or her experience. She has size and she has ambition, and against a Taylor who has been through the Amanda Serrano trilogy, that is not enough.
The Rest Of The Night
The undercard is proper too. Thomas Carty against Dave Allen is the heavyweight scrap the Dublin crowd will be loudest for before the main event, and I said earlier this week that Allen needs to keep the towel on the hook, because the Irish will not do him any favours. Prelims from 4pm, main card from 7pm, everything on DAZN. Ring walks for the main event will be late, so settle in.
Luke's Verdict
I have no interest in sitting on the fence for a farewell. Pili is a live body and a fresh one, and she will have a round or two where the size bothers Taylor. But this is levels. Taylor's feet, her timing, and her ability to fight in short, brilliant bursts will decide it from round three onwards. Taylor wins wide on the cards — something like 98-92 across the board — and she walks out of Croke Park undisputed, undefeated at 140, and done. If you know, you know. We will have the result and the reaction on our news page overnight.