Katie Taylor Announces Final Fight Against Undefeated Flora Pili at Croke Park on 5 September

Katie Taylor will fight her final bout on 5 September at Croke Park against undefeated Frenchwoman Flora Pili. The 39-year-old aims to regain the WBC portion of the light-welterweight title, which was made vacant after last year's win over Amanda Serrano, and retire undisputed. The announcement came at a news conference on Friday.

After the event, Taylor and her team began a four-day promotional tour around the island of Ireland, starting in her home town of Bray. Brian Peters, Taylor's manager, and Eddie Hearn, her promoter, attended the news conference. Hearn said there will not be a dry eye in the house when Taylor appears in front of an expected crowd of 80,000.

On 31 October 2001, a 15-year-old Taylor took part in the first sanctioned female amateur bout in Ireland against Alanna Nihell, now known as Alanna Nihell (nee Audley). Nihell is the sister of current IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker. Taylor won Olympic gold 11 years after that first amateur bout, and her success was a major reason women's boxing was included in the Olympics for the first time.

In 2016, Taylor, flanked by Peters and her mother Bridget, met Hearn at Matchroom Boxing headquarters in Essex to convince him to support her professional career. World title belts at lightweight followed, along with victories over several opponents. On 30 April 2022, Taylor edged out Amanda Serrano in the first female boxing main event at Madison Square Garden.

The sell-out bout was also a fight of the year contender. The second and third fights against Serrano took place under Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions banner and were broadcast live on Netflix. Boxing has been absent from Croke Park since Muhammad Ali defeated Al 'Blue' Lewis by 11th-round victory in front of 18,000 spectators in 1972.