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Katie Taylor ended her career with a unanimous decision victory over Flora Pili before more than 80,000 at Croke Park, retaining the undisputed super lightweight title.
Katie Taylor closed her professional boxing career with a unanimous decision win over Flora Pili at Croke Park, retaining the undisputed women's super lightweight title, including the IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO belts.
The judges scored it 100-90 twice and 98-91 once. More than 80,000 fans attended the first boxing event at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali appeared there. Pili, a 29-year-old Frenchwoman who came into the bout unbeaten, had some good moments. She landed a couple of punches in the second round and then produced heavy blows in the seventh that had Taylor back-pedalling.
Otherwise Taylor was spotless in one of the most straightforward fights of her career. Taylor kept Pili at her preferred distance with ramrod left jabs and whipped right hands to the challenger's head at will. Pili was strong on her feet and aggressive, but she was essentially trying to hit a ghost. Before the main event there was a festival feel.
Westlife played, Róisín O and Aoife Scott performed Grace, and Shane Filan led a phone-flashlight singalong to You Raise Me Up. Filan said: 'We're going to light up Croke Park for Katie Taylor tonight, and show the whole world how much she means to this country.
' Westlife ended their set by saying: 'Thank you guys, we love you! ' A Matchroom promo video featuring Barry Keoghan also played. RTÉ broadcast from 8pm, and one live report called the undercard 'As undercards go, that was underwhelming.
' The undercard featured Irish fighters before the main event. Around the stands there were cans of gin and tonic and Smirnoff Ice, plus what was described as the strongest smell of cannabis Croke Park had ever known. The night also included Zombie and endless Olé, Olé, Olé chants. It was a warm Saturday night in Dublin and the stadium felt alive.
The crowd was all Ireland: families, couples, gangs of girls, bands of boys, grannies and grandkids, Travellers and poshos, GAA heads, rugby heads, soccer heads, all faiths and none. People ran into each other and gestured to the pitch and stands, offering what felt like eight thousand versions of the same thought: 'This is wild. Isn't this wild?
' Taylor's ringwalk at 10:01pm was a Broadway show by itself. She entered in black and gold trim from the corner of the Hogan and Davin Stands, strolling along a KatieWalk of her own while fireworks went off around the stadium roof. Some fans wondered about fireworks before the action, as if the result was already treated as a fait accompli.
Taylor looked calm and comfortable, sang along and stared into the camera before being introduced as the Olympic gold medallist and two-division undisputed world champion from Bray, County Wicklow. From the opening bell, any worry was washed away. She won a cagey first round and never allowed Pili to enter her postcode. Pili tried to draw Taylor into counter-punching in the second, but Taylor's experience showed as she landed decent hits and had Pili on the ropes for a moment.
Pili moved faster in the third and looked for a more commanding position, yet Taylor landed shots and got out of the way. Taylor put clear water between them from the third to the sixth. In the fourth, RTÉ's Donovan said 'Katie Taylor is just a step ahead' and her corner would be very happy. Taylor landed two good shots in quick combinations and grew in confidence.
Chants of 'Katie, Katie' rang out in the fifth as she used the ring brilliantly and took instructions from Ross Enamait in her corner. A big right hand in the sixth rocked Pili twice, and Taylor added another big shot before the bell. Pili had her best round in the seventh, catching Taylor a few times and gaining momentum, but Taylor responded and stayed comfortable.
Because Pili could not land cleanly, Taylor only needed to find her range three or four times a round. In the eighth, Pili's corner urged her to attack, but Taylor answered with big punches and a left hook. RTÉ's Donovan called it high-level boxing and fantastic stuff from KT. The ninth round was all Taylor, as she seemed to ghost Pili.
Taylor went into the tenth on the front foot and was carried by endless Olé, Olé chants. In the final ten seconds she let go and traded punches with Pili as if the fight had suddenly been pressed on to fast-forward. The final bell left her laughing. When the result was announced, the stadium exploded, and 'Sin é' echoed around Croke Park.
Taylor raised her arms as her team joined her in the ring while 'Celebrate good times' played. She then celebrated with her mother Bridget, coach Ross Enamait and Brian Peters. Taylor gave special thanks to Pili, saying: 'She was a very awkward opponent, a great opponent, Flora Pili. Thank you for being part of this night.
' She shouted to her father Pete: 'Thanks for everything Dad, I love ya! ' She told her mother Bridget: 'There's nothing like an Irish Mammy, but you've been more than that. You're the absolute best Mam, thank you so much.
' She also paid tribute to her siblings: 'We've been on some adventure, imagine what it's like for them watching their sister get punched for a living! ' To the crowd she said: 'Croke Park, we did it - we brought boxing back to Croke Park! Every one of you here, you were with me all the way.
' She added: 'You travelled around the world to watch me. Now you are here with me in this amazing stadium. I can't get over it. I don't know any other country that would sell 80,000 tickets for a female athlete, I'm convinced it's only Ireland.
' Golfer Shane Lowry told RTÉ ringside: 'Katie is a true role model and inspiration for everyone in Ireland - not just in sport, for everyone in Ireland. ' At a Bray seafront fan zone, Hannah and her mother Annmarie watched in the same place where Annmarie had brought Hannah when she was four during the Olympics. Marie Keogh from Wolfetone in Bray could not get a ticket to Croke Park, so the seafront was the next best thing.
She said that win, lose or draw, the people of Bray would still love Taylor. The night ended with Taylor leaving Croke Park with the undisputed title around her waist. The crowd refused to stop roaring. Fans had come from all over Ireland to see her finish her career as the greatest to ever do it, and she did not disappoint.
She acted rather than spoke, and in the end there were no worlds left to conquer.
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The42_ie:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Katie Taylor Flora Pili Croke Park Undisputed Title Boxing Farewell Katie Taylor Vs Flora Pili Croke Park Farewell Undisputed Super Lightweight Title Boxing Retirement Unanimous Decision
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