What to Know
- Fight Week is underway in Dublin, Ireland, for the final appearance of legendary Irish boxer Katie Taylor this Saturday, September 5, at the historic Croke Park Stadium in front of 80,000 devoted fans.
- Taylor will face undefeated Flora Pili of France in her bid to become a three-time undisputed champion with the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight titles at stake.
- The fight card airs live on DAZN Boxing in the U.S. with early prelims at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, and the main four-fight card at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. I will be covering the event in Dublin for NY Fights.
Very few boxing events today rise to become cultural events beyond sport. The days of the “Thrilla in Manila” and “Rumble in the Jungle” or even an iconic Olympic triumph are long in the past.
But Saturday’s final appearance in the ring by Katie Taylor will have this significance in the Republic of Ireland and for many fans of women’s sports, beyond those borders.
It’s the reason why this American reporter is traveling from my home in San Diego to Dublin to witness this event firsthand. As a woman observing boxing through my less common lens, it’s a monumental moment in the sport. It is also a monumental moment for all women athletes and fans around the world.
Katie Taylor’s Remarkable Record
Taylor is an Olympic gold medalist, with world titles in two weight classes, and holds the record for the most-viewed women’s professional boxing event ever against Amanda Serrano in their second fight in Dallas on Netflix. All told, she has won 19 world title fights and never ducked a challenge. She is legitimately the first true women’s boxing star. And its North Star.
She is an undisputed champion in two weight divisions and will regain her third with a win Saturday.
Taylor is facing an opponent many people, even within boxing, don’t know well. But Flora Pili of France (12-0, 2 KOs) is a legitimate IBO World and WBO European Super Lightweight champion with respectable skills and strength. As she said at Tuesday’s final pre-fight news conference, she has nothing to lose.
For her part, Taylor of Bray, Ireland (25-1, 6 KOs) is doing her best to keep her wits about her and prepare for the fight of her life. She has sequestered herself for several months during her training camp, emerging now for pre-fight activities and interviews to share her thoughts, even as she does her best to keep her emotions under wraps.
The event has captivated the entire nation. The fight will be televised on RTE across Ireland, the equivalent of PBS in the U.S., which has been granted the broadcast rights, making the event free for all to watch. A first.
The fight is sponsored by Irish grocery store chain Lidl Ireland, which renamed its Bray store for its hometown hero, and is selling souvenir Katie Taylor trunks in the store’s brand colors to benefit a local nonprofit.
Academy Award-nominated actor Barry Keoghan agreed to narrate a promotional video unlike any boxing promo I’ve ever seen as a piece of storytelling.
But let’s not forget there is a fight to be fought.
Katie Taylor Realizes a Dream Saturday
No doubt Taylor, who vowed she would not retire until she had the opportunity to fight in the iconic hometown stadium that is the home of Gaelic football, the magnificent Croke Park, has envisioned this event in her daydreams hundreds of times in her long career. When it sold out all 80,000 seats in 17 minutes, she surely realized the immensity of the moment.
“I’m still pinching myself. This is a dream,” said Taylor. “We can be very proud as a nation, because I’m not sure there is any other nation in the world where 80,000 people would turn up for a female athlete.
“This country has traveled round the world to watch me fight. They’ve traveled to London, to Manchester, Leeds, Brooklyn, Boston, Dallas, New York, and they are with me on Saturday night as well. And I just want to say to you all, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I’m so grateful. Thank you,” said Taylor.
Flora Pili: Playing Her Part With Nothing To Lose
Pili knows she is the supporting player to the star, but it means there is little pressure on her.
“I think we’re all aware of the task ahead of us,” said Pili. “We’ve got the whole of France behind us, not just a few people who’ll be in this enormous crowd, but everybody back home and on DAZN, watching around the world. So, we’re going to be very proud to take on the worthy opponent of Katie.
“I have nothing to lose and everything to win,” Pili points out. “I am the underdog for the fight. But for that reason, there’s less pressure on me, and for that reason, I’m going to be giving 200% from round one right to the end, and give everything I can, and hopefully take away all these fantastic belts.”
Taylor is doing her best not to let herself be mired in the quicksand of emotions pulling at her. She steadfastly refuses to talk much about how Saturday might unfold or to think ahead to the moment when her career becomes her legacy, saying there will be time to reflect on her career after her hand is raised.
But she admits she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t think about it at all.
Katie Taylor: Greatest Part Of My Legacy
The single moment when Taylor found herself taking a breath and choking back a quiver in her voice was what she hopes will result from Saturday’s event in Ireland beyond a victory in the ring.
“I’m just blown away by this amazing support. I’m so proud to be Irish. I’m so proud to represent this amazing country every single time I step into the ring.”
Taylor said she recalls her start in boxing, when as a nine- and ten-year-old she had to disguise herself as a boy to get fights and got laughed at for trying to become a boxer. “I had to earn people’s respect along the way,” said Taylor.
Taylor said she is happy and delighted that today’s girls don’t have to struggle as she did.
“The door is actually open for them, and you walk into every boxing gym now in the country. It’s packed with female fighters, and that to me is the greatest part about this legacy.
“I’m so delighted to see everyone’s progress. We have one of the most amazing female boxing teams right now, and that to me is part of my legacy as well.
“And I’m imagining all the thousands of stories from the little girls who were at a boxing event for the first time Saturday evening. In my mind’s eye, I’m imagining that one of those girls might fall in love with this beautiful sport and might even surpass my achievements, and that’s what legacy is all about.
“Just because of one amazing September day in Croke Park, the iconic dream, and I cannot wait to hear those stories,” said Taylor. Her remarks were met by thunderous applause.
Eddie Hearn: Biggest Achievement of My Career
Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn calls Saturday’s event the biggest achievement of his career. Bigger than Joshua vs Klitschko. Bigger than Groves vs Froch. Beyond Brook, Barker, and Bellew. “On Saturday night, it’s the pinnacle of everything we’ve done,” said Hearn, who added that every Irish person he’s spoken with, from young boys to grandmothers, has said they will be there or will be watching.
“It’s female boxing, but you’ve got to forget about that because I don’t think there will be a better moment in boxing than what you’re about to see on Saturday night. Just what it means to people here in Ireland, what it means to her, what it means to the team.
“I think we can acknowledge Katie Taylor is the greatest Irish sportsperson of all time,” says Eddie Hearn. “So, let’s just all enjoy it, let’s do!”
One Final Detail for Taylor vs Pili
Veteran Irish music promoter Peter Aiken, who signed on to assist with the event, says he spoke with the Almighty about one final loose end.
“I’ve done a bit of a deal with him,” said Aiken, telling Hearn the details. “I sold your soul to him to make sure there’s no rain on Saturday. Now we might have to cleanse it a bit. Is there a priest in the house? When we were at confessions, we asked, but He’s promised us no rain after four o’clock.”
I trust in God, but I’ll bring a rain slicker to Croke Park nevertheless. Some things can’t be left to chance during a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
