What to Know
• Irish boxing legend Katie Taylor made her exit from boxing as the undisputed world super lightweight champion at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.
• Taylor defeated Flora Pili of France with a dominant decision victory.
• A sold-out crowd of 83,000 people saw Taylor put her gloves at the center of the ring canvas, the symbolic announcement that she is officially retired.
Like so many good things in life, it all went by so fast.
With all the stagecraft and love of a nation any athlete could possibly imagine, Katie Taylor of Bray, Ireland made her way to the ring to face Flora Pili of France in front of 83,000 Irish fans (and a few of their friends, including this reporter) to compete for the undisputed super lightweight title on Saturday at the famed Croke Park Stadium in Dublin.
Taylor of Bray, Ireland (26-1, 6 KOs) delivered a surgical performance against Pili (12-1, 2 KOs) for a fitting sendoff and legacy for herself and her admirers and successors around the world. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92.
“We brought boxing back to Croke Park! Every one of you here, I had you with me. From the Olympics in 2012, the heartbreak of Rio, you stayed with me throughout the pros. You traveled around the world, and now here with me at this amazing stadium,” said Taylor after hearing her scores. It was the capstone to a career few boxers manage to achieve.
Katie Taylor Enjoys The Moment, Then Focuses On The Fight
Following the triumphant and euphoric ring walk complete with plenty of Irish music and spectacle, let’s not forget the remaining matter of the fight itself between Taylor and Pili. From the moment of the opening bell, all the fireworks that count would be in the ring between the two women involved.
I asked Taylor at the post-fight news conference what she drew on to settle down to the business at hand in the ring.
“My mind was pretty much focused on the fight all along. Even making the ring walk, I knew that I had to step into the ring, and I knew that I had to perform well to actually win the fight.
“And I knew all along, even in this last week, a fight week, all the interviews, all the emotions that are going on, the most important part was I got my hand raised at the end of the night,” explained Taylor.
“I allowed myself to enjoy the ring walk. I allowed myself to kind of look around and soak it all in. But once I settled into the ring, then mine was very, very much fixed on actually winning this fight.
“So it wasn’t actually too different for me to do that. I switched on back from the start, and I have a real live opponent in front of me. I have a non-beaten opponent in front of me. Someone who’s there to win the fight as well. So I had to be sharp, had to be focused, and the most important, like I said, was to get my hand raised.”
Taylor: ‘Nerves Are A Privilege’
Taylor also admitted to some nervousness before entering Croke Park but looks at it as a privilege. “Every single fighter in the whole world wants to be in this position I’m in, feeling the pressure, the whole of the weight of a nation on my shoulders, and feeling this atmosphere.
“My legs are shaking. I can’t sleep. But every fighter in the whole world wants to be in this position, and so I recognize that it’s an absolute privilege as well. That’s what I’m saying to myself in the dressing room when the nerves are going. “I think having that mindset is so important when you’re stuck in such a huge pressure situation.”
Solid Win To End A Boxing Career
Though Pili was heartily booed entering the ring, without her there was no fight on Saturday. Pili did what she could to make Taylor work for her honors, and Taylor wouldn’t have it any other way. But it would have been a shocking upset if Pili had prevailed.
Taylor was every bit herself in the ring, even at age 40. She was nimble, precise, fast, and powerful. Pili stood right in front of Taylor with impressive confidence considering the circumstances. She did her best to find ways to reach Taylor with her shots. The champion was simply too skilled, and her offensive threat kept Pili on alert.
Taylor said later it wasn’t her best performance. “She was actually a very awkward opponent, a great opponent, Flora Pili. Thanks to her for being involved in this epic night,” said Taylor.
Not surprisingly, Taylor was a bit hard on her performance. According to CompuBox, she landed 98 of 352 punches thrown (28%), while Pili landed 60 of 278 punches (22%). Taylor held a 77 to 41 connect advantage in power punches. Her right hook and jabs to the body were as fresh as ever.
Taylor said when she heard the signal for the last 10 seconds of the final round of her career, she turned it up. “I said, ‘Why not?” I’m just going to swing and try to catch it on the side for the last 10 seconds and the last 10 seconds of my life in the ring. What an amazing moment!
“But just looking back in the whole 28 years and 30 years in the ring, the first time I stepped into a boxing ring to sitting down tonight (at the news conference), it’s been absolutely amazing, and I just wanted to leave it all in the ring.” It was by far her highest number of connected punches in the fight (19 in two minutes).
‘It’s All Part of the Story’
Before Taylor thanked the members of her team and her family, she took the microphone into her hands and said, “Let me just look around for a second.” She turned in a full circle to look at the 83,000 people who came to witness her final fight. She told me later, “It wasn’t planned. I promise. And yeah, it’s a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Taylor laughed.
Asked if she would change anything about her career if she could, such as her single loss to Chantelle Cameron, Taylor said she wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s all part of the story at the end of the day, and even the losses and the setbacks. I always think losses and setbacks are a great opportunity to show the world what your character is like, and I was able to come back from those losses with a great win.
“That’s where all the growth happens as well, during the setbacks and the losses and the heartbreaks, and I’m just as grateful for the failures and the disappointments as they are for the successes. Of course, I’d love to be sitting here as an undefeated champion. But it is all part of my journey, and I wouldn’t change a thing,” reflected Taylor.
The Future and Last Words of Advice
Taylor said she would love to stay involved in boxing and sports after a vacation and a break. “It’ll be very strange for me not being involved, since this has been my whole life for the last three years. Let’s see what happens,” said Taylor.
Taylor’s final message was directed at young girls who dream of achieving something great, as she did in boxing.
“There’s no secrets to success. It’s a well-worn path. You work hard and never give up when times get tough, and keep that dream in your heart, and it’s as simple as that, really. So that’s what I say to any young girl out there today.”
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.
