Tears and tricolours – inside Irish icon Taylor’s final fight week
Katie Taylor, the Irish boxing icon, is preparing to fight her final bout against unbeaten Frenchwoman Flora Pili at Croke Park on Saturday, closing out a career that took her from disguising herself as a boy to compete in a sport that once barred women, to Olympic gold and undisputed world titles. The 40-year-old, usually guarded during fight-week media duties, has visibly struggled to contain her emotions this week as the reality of her farewell before an expected 80,000-strong home crowd sets in.
Taylor described the occasion as "the stuff of dreams", saying she doubted many countries would fill a stadium for a female athlete. Promoter Eddie Hearn admitted he became emotional during the final press conference, while manager Brian Peters led an exhausting 1,500-mile bus tour across all 32 counties of Ireland to help sell out the venue, with crowds mobbing stops such as Kilkenny. BBC coverage begins on Radio 5 Sports Extra from 19:00 BST, moving to 5 Live from 22:00, with the main event ring walks expected between 22:00 and 22:30.
- Katie Taylor fights her farewell bout against Flora Pili at Croke Park
- Roughly 80,000 fans expected for the Irish icon's final fight
- Team undertook a 32-county tour to help sell out the stadium
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Katie Taylor is one of Ireland's most successful athletes, having risen from her early years boxing in disguise as a boy, before women's boxing was permitted, to winning Olympic gold and holding undisputed world titles across multiple weight divisions. Now 40, she is preparing for what has been billed as her final professional fight, against unbeaten French boxer Flora Pili at Croke Park in Dublin.
The bout is a significant moment for Irish sport, with the stadium expected to hold around 80,000 people, reflecting Taylor's standing at home and the wider profile that women's boxing has gained during her career. Eddie Hearn is the promoter behind the event, while Brian Peters, her manager, has helped generate interest across the country in the build-up.
For readers unfamiliar with boxing, a fighter's "final bout" typically marks the end of their competitive career, making this contest a farewell as much as a sporting contest, with attention on both the outcome and the sense of occasion surrounding it.