It promises to be some knees-up in Dublin on Saturday night.
The standard-bearer for women’s boxing for so long, Katie Taylor, is set for her last dance with a headline fight in front of an expected crowd of 80,000 punters at the historic Croke Park.
Taylor, now 40, assumed the title of boxing’s poster girl long ago thanks to a superb and storied career that has seen her win titles, belts, plaudits and Olympic gold medals. But arguably the crowning moment will be Saturday’s main event where she will rightfully take centre stage when she faces unbeaten Frenchwoman Flora Pili.
“This is the stuff of dreams and I’m pinching myself that it’s happening,” Taylor says ahead of her swansong. “I look back at my career and I think how remarkable it has been. The highs, the lows, the failures, the disappointments and the successes.”
As well as being at such a revered venue, Saturday’s fight will also be screened live on free-to-air TV in Ireland – an anomaly in today’s world where almost every prominent boxing match is screened behind pay-per-view or requires subscriptions to streaming services. Whilst Taylor is a bona fide Irish sporting legend, regardless of what the outcome is on Saturday, her association with the sweet science hasn’t always been easy.
She takes up the story of how, when she was young, she had to disguise herself as a boy such was the alien concept of girls fighting.
“It was not easy,” she told the Guardian. “Boxing runs in my family’s blood but there were no opportunities for girls. I followed my brothers to the gym but I had to pretend I was a boy to get fights. We had to put my name down as K Taylor. I would pull the headgear on, tuck my hair inside so no one could see it and get into the ring. When I won and took the headgear off there would be uproar when everyone saw I was a girl.”
Taylor has come a long way since then, helping blaze a mighty trail for girls and women to enter the sport. Her record, 25 wins and just a solitary defeat, speaks for itself.
Saturday will see her defend three of her super-lightweight straps with another on the line. If she wins, she will put a golden full stop on a glorious career and bow out of the sport as an undisputed champion.
Asked about her emotions heading into her finale, Taylor said: “I don’t think I can prepare for what happens on Saturday, but I’m going to try and keep emotions in check and try and enjoy the ringwalk. But the most important thing is to win.”
