Taylor To Fight For Undisputed In Final Professional Bout

Katie Taylor will make her final professional appearance at Croke Park in Dublin on September 5, fighting Flora Pili for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.

in a contest that would make her undisputed champion for a third time. The homecoming Eddie Hearn described as career-defining — Croke Park or retirement — is confirmed.

Taylor already holds the WBO, IBF and WBA belts at junior welterweight. The WBC title became available after Sandy Ryan vacated to take a break from boxing, opening the path for a unification bout that hands Taylor the chance to close her career with all four belts in a division where she has already established herself as the dominant force.

Taylor turned professional in 2016 and won her first world title the following year, beginning a journey that has taken her from the first undisputed lightweight champion in the four-belt era to a second undisputed reign at junior welterweight. The path was not without adversity — she lost to Chantelle Cameron in her first attempt at 140 pounds before regaining the belt six months later, and has since gone 3-0 against Amanda Serrano in a rivalry that has defined women's boxing across the past several years.

Pili is unbeaten at 12-0 and has collected the French, European and IBO titles at junior welterweight, most recently beating Jelena Janicijevic by majority decision last December. The step up to face Taylor at Croke Park — in front of a capacity crowd of over 82,000 in the most significant venue in Irish sport — is the biggest night of her professional career by an enormous margin.

For Taylor, it is the ending she has been working toward. A career that began in 2016, produced two undisputed reigns, and delivered moments that transformed the landscape of women's boxing deserves a final night that matches its scale. September 5 at Croke Park is that night.