Taylor Dominates Pili At Croke Park, Retires Undisputed
Katie Taylor closed her career with a shutout win over Flora Pili at Croke Park on Saturday, taking a unanimous decision by scores of 100-90, 100-90, and 98-91 to claim undisputed lightweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super lightweight gold. She retires at 26-1, a three-time undisputed champion.
The 40-year-old was too fast and too skilled for Pili from the opening bell, per Bad Left Hook's live coverage. Taylor ripped combinations and circled out before the Frenchwoman could answer, managing distance and picking spots to let her hands go. Pili landed a brief flurry in the seventh that drew a response from the crowd, but Taylor went back to sharpshooting off the retreat and the threat faded. In the tenth, Taylor unloaded with hooks and straight rights as 80,000 fans chanted through the final round.
Taylor's Farewell Ceremony At Croke Park
The occasion outshone the action. Westlife performed before the main event, fireworks lit the Dublin sky, and the card streamed on DAZN with no pay-per-wall charge. After the decision, Eddie Hearn cleared the ring and left Taylor alone with the crowd, as Boxing Insider reported. She took a final lap, laid her gloves in the center of the canvas, and her team placed every one of her belts beside them.
Taking the microphone, Taylor said, "Croke Park, we did it; we brought boxing back to Croke Park." She thanked the fans for being with her since before London 2012 and said she is convinced Ireland is the only country that would sell out 80,000 tickets for a female athlete. Speaking to RTE afterward, she said nothing can top the night.
Taylor leaves as boxing's most decorated woman: five-time amateur world champion, Olympic gold medalist at London 2012, and undisputed titlist at lightweight and twice at super lightweight. She held at least one world title in 20 consecutive fights. Her lone loss, to Chantelle Cameron in 2023, was avenged six months later.
On the undercard, Paddy Donovan stopped Tyrone McKenna in the fourth round on a doctor stoppage after opening a cut above McKenna's right eye. The heavyweight co-feature between Dave Allen and Thomas Carty was ruled a no contest 1:22 into the first round after Carty careened through the ropes and got his foot stuck in a chair.
Photo: cormac70 from London / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Original reporting:
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