‘You couldn’t make Taylor’s story up’ – Hearn
Katie Taylor is set to make the final walk of her professional boxing career on Saturday night, fighting Flora Pili at Croke Park with the chance to reclaim the undisputed light-welterweight title. Her promoter, Eddie Hearn, reflected on her extraordinary journey from Olympic gold medallist to a driving force in transforming women's boxing, describing her career as one where financial and professional obstacles were repeatedly overcome through her own determination.
Hearn recalled being sceptical before first meeting Taylor in 2016, but her passion won him over and led him to headline her professional debut in London, despite doubts from others in the sport that fans would be interested. That fight earned her around £6,000, but she went on to challenge pay disparities with male fighters, most notably questioning why she earned far less than a male counterpart on the same 2018 card in Boston. Hearn says she now earns more than 99% of male boxers, with her three fights against Amanda Serrano, including two sold-out bouts at Madison Square Garden, helping cement her legacy and elevate the profile of women's boxing.
- Katie Taylor fights her final professional bout on Saturday at Croke Park
- Promoter Eddie Hearn praises her role in transforming women's boxing
- Taylor now reportedly out-earns 99% of male boxers, Hearn says
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Katie Taylor, one of Ireland's most successful boxers, is preparing for what is being billed as the last fight of her professional career, taking on Flora Pili at Croke Park in Dublin. Beyond the result, the bout carries symbolic weight, marking the close of a career that began with Olympic gold and went on to help transform women's boxing as a whole.
Central to the story is Eddie Hearn, the promoter who signed Taylor early in her professional career and has worked closely with her since. His comments trace her rise from a low-paid professional debut in 2016, through a public stand against unequal pay compared with male boxers, to becoming one of the sport's best-paid and most influential fighters, including a high-profile rivalry with Amanda Serrano that drew major crowds in the United States.
This context matters because Taylor's career is widely seen as a turning point for the visibility and earning power of women in boxing, so her final fight is being viewed not just as a personal milestone but as a marker of how far the sport has come.