Katie Taylor will bring down the curtain on her staggering boxing career tonight, as she fights one last time.
The Irish icon – an Olympic gold medalist and two-weight undisputed champion – will finally realise her dream of boxing at Dublin’s iconic Croke Park, as she faces the unbeaten Flora Pili.
Yet tonight’s main event is less about the result, which will crown an undisputed super-lightweight queen, and more about celebrating Taylor.
The 40-year-old is widely seen as the greatest women’s boxer in history, having played a pivotal role in bringing the sport to the Olympics, after getting her own start by pretending to be a boy.
Whatever happens tonight, Taylor’s legacy is secure, but this evening’s action will be must-watch regardless. Follow live updates and results from Taylor vs Pili and the undercard, below.
Read MoreWhy Katie Taylor’s final fight at Croke Park is not about what happens in the ring
Katie Taylor has young fan in tears as she gives boxing lesson before final fight
Eddie Hearn reveals Katie Taylor regret ahead of Croke Park farewell fight
Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili LIVE
- Katie Taylor fights one last time, boxing Flora Pili in Dublin
- Irish icon Taylor finally realises dream of Croke Park fight
- Undisputed super-lightweight belts up for grabs tonight
- Taylor, 40, is true great of women’s boxing; France’s Pili is unbeaten
- ‘Forget Keane, McIlroy: Taylor is Ireland’s greatest athlete ever’
- Fight streams live on DAZN worldwide, on RTE in Ireland
Barry Hearn looks on in tears?
22:04 , Alex PattleLongtime promoter Barry Hearn, father of Taylor’s promoter Eddie, looks like he’s got tears in his eyes.
He applauds the Irish icon from the front row.
MC David Diamante has the fighter introductions now.
Taylor taking it all in
22:00 , Alex PattleNow here comes Taylor, looking around and taking it all in.
She doesn’t look nervous, per se, but she certainly looks moved.
84,000 are here in Croke Park to see her, where she’s always dreamed of boxing.
Fireworks jettison into the dark Dublin sky.
This is very moving, I have to say.
Irish crowd drowns out Pili's music as they sing 'ole'
21:56 , Alex PattleCorr, Croke Park is a CAULDRON tonight. The crowd sings “ole” so loudly that Pili’s initial entrance music is barely audible.
Who is Flora Pili? Unbeaten French boxer makes her entrance
21:54 , Alex PattleTaylor (25-1, 6 KOs) will carry the IBF, WBO and WBA belts into this fight, while the vacant WBC title is also up for grabs.
Pili, 29, will bring her own belt into the fight – the IBO strap – although that version of the world title is not always granted the same prestige as the other belts.
In any case, Pili will also enter this fight with an unbeaten record (12-0, 2 KOs), as she looks to pull off the upset in front of Taylor’s home crowd.
Does the French boxer stand a chance, though? Betway has her listed as a huge underdog at 10/1, while Taylor is 1/20, and the draw is 20/1.
Silvia Bortot is perhaps the only name of real note on Pili’s resume; in 2023, Pili won a split decision against the Italian, who has fought world champions Lauren Price and Mikaela Mayer in the last three years – losing to both on points.
'Grace' performed before ring walks
21:49 , Alex PattleThe famous Irish song “Grace” is performed by Aoife Scott and Roisin O now.
The crowd is in strong voice, as you’d expect!
Now the national anthem.
Ring walks next...
Westlife perform 'You Raise Me Up'
21:44 , Alex PattleHere are Irish boyband Westlife, performing “World Of Our Own”.
Always enjoyed this one as a kid.
Next, one of the great covers?
Westlife encourage the Croke Park crowd to get their phone lights on, before launching into the chorus of “You Raise Me Up”.
With that, they leave the stage.
Barry Keoghan stars in hype video for Taylor's farewell
21:41 , Alex PattleAs the crowd in Croker watch this, you can too...
Check out the promo video for Taylor’s farewell, starring actor Barry Keoghan:
'Zombie' by The Cranberries plays as Taylor warms up backstage
21:34 , Alex PattleCorrr, we’re getting close now. An iconic Irish tune is BELTED OUT by the Croker faithful.
Westlife will play right before / during Taylor’s ring walk, and the noise when the legend emerges will be deafening. No doubt.
David Price’s prediction for Taylor vs Pili
21:27 , Alex PattleFormer heavyweight David Price, speaking to BetSelect.co.uk, said this week: “It would only be fitting for her to go out with a win against Flora Pili, which I think she will.
“She will be etched into history for what she’s done for women’s boxing. She is up there as one of the greatest British and Irish boxers of all time.
“She’ll go down as one of, if not the greatest female boxer of all time, and I have no doubts that she should be and will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”
Carty vs Allen conclusion in photos
21:07 , Alex PattleAnother replay shows Carty clutching the back of his head after Allen’s final punch, before the Irishman fell through the ropes.
I wouldn’t say that was an intentionally illegal punch by Allen.
What a bizarre turn of events.
Carty seems to be okay as fight is ruled no-contest
21:02 , Alex PattleCarty is back on his feet, and he’s being escorted away from the ring.
We still don’t have an official ruling, but it will likely be a no-contest, rather than a KO or DQ.
MC David Diamante explains that it is a no-contest, upon the advice of a ringside doctor, with the finish coming at 1:22 of the very first round.
Replay shows back-of-the-head shot
20:58 , Alex PattleCarty is sitting up. He’s receiving oxygen, but he was also just seen shaking his head.
Allen is still bemused by the situation. The crowd doesn’t know what to make of it, either.
There are a few boos, but there’s clearly concern for Carty. I still don’t know what’s wrong with him.
Could it be that the punch to the side of the head actually landed to the back of the head?
Yes, a replay shows it did! The fans have seen that replay now, and they’re booing.
Carty falls through the ropes and out of the ring!
20:54 , Alex PattleRound one
Nice one-two from Carty after some early jabs by Allen. Carty with his own slick jab, then another southpaw one-two.
Allen fires back and has Carty wobbling off balance, then... OH!
Allen throws a shot to the side of the head in the clinch, and Carty tumbles through the ropes and out of the ring!!
“What the f***?” says a visibly-confused Allen.
Carty is lying flat on his back at ringside. He’s conscious, looking up at the sky. Did he get buzzed? Did he dislocate a shoulder or something? We’ll let you know once we know more.
They’ve paused the clock, but the fight hasn’t yet been waved off.
Heavyweight action, then Taylor vs Pili
20:36 , Alex PattleDave Allen fights Ireland’s Thomas Carty next. This should be a fun one.
Allen, 34, is a true veteran of the heavyweight division, while Carty, 30, is a southpaw with a promising record (11-1, 9 KOs).
Allen is hoping to bounce back from an early stoppage loss to Filip Hrgovic, who of course upset Moses Itauma last week.
Donovan beats a bloodied McKenna
20:26 , Alex Pattle
Donovan cuts and stops McKenna!
20:15 , Alex PattleRound four
McKenna, credit to him, is still on the front foot. Donovan is boxing behind his jab for now.
As the round goes on, Donovan begins to mix in hooks – and a lovely uppercut, too. The right hook, both to the head and body, is working nicely for Donovan.
Now a clean cross upstairs. McKenna skips away. He eats another uppercut and a hook.
His right eye is cut, and now he gets tagged on that bruised left eye... More clean offence from Donovan.
The ringside doctor checks McKenna’s cut... and IMMEDIATELY waves off the fight, wow! It is DRIPPING blood, to be fair.
Donovan drops McKenna!
20:07 , Alex PattleRound two
Great right hook to the body by Donovan, as he evades a shot over the top from McKenna.
Oh!! McKenna drops to his knees on delay!
He beats the ref’s count, but Donovan immediately gets after him with more body shots. McKenna nods at him.
Now a great right hook upstairs, with McKenna focusing on guarding his body. The younger Donovan is on another level right now. He lands a right hook upstairs now.
That left eye of McKenna is really reddened. He does land a right hand of his own, mind.
Donovan isn’t rushing for a finish...
Croke Park nearly full already
19:52 , Alex PattleCroke Park is almost full, and it looks stunning, it must be said.
Below is a look at one of the stands, but also that emphatic finish that Bevan just scored against Brennan.
Heartwarming moment: Taylor has young fan in tears of joy
19:23 , Alex PattleThe most heartwarming image of the week?
Taylor coached a 10-year-old fan through some padwork, in a moving scene.
Why has it taken so long for Taylor to fight at Croke Park?
19:17 , Alex PattleTaylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn said this week: “If Croker would have originally gone, ‘Yes, this is going to be massive,’ I would have gone, ‘wow’, and we would have done it.
“But it was like: ‘I don’t know.’ Blimey, if they’re not sure, do we really want to be gambling with these costs?
“People can deflate your spirit, which is quite unusual for me, but they did deflate my spirit a little bit over the years, because they made me question whether we could do it or if it would actually work.
“And I’m disappointed in myself, actually, that I allowed that to happen, because maybe we could have done it earlier. But then I didn’t have the confidence that I had going into it this time with [Irish promoter] Peter Aiken involved and the three Amanda Serrano fights [behind us].
“Croker helped out as well and they were fantastic in the end. But I never thought we’d do 40,000 tickets on a pre-sale. How many could we have done? I don’t know, maybe another 40,000, 50,000, 100,000?”
Forget McIlroy, forget Keane: Taylor is Ireland’s greatest athlete
19:11 , Alex PattleA reflection on Taylor’s career here, involving some fantastic quotes from various key figures in Irish fight sports.
“I remember seeing her move with my naked eye for the first time,” Irish journalist Peter Carroll told The Independent.
“She was 2-0. Me and maybe five other media guys are called to this tiny boxing gym in rural. The gym’s roof is leaking; it’s this rundown spot, there’s room for the boxing ring and nothing else.
“[But when she boxed], I was like: ‘What in the name of God is this?’”
That and much, much more here:
Katie Taylor is Ireland’s greatest athlete and it’s not even close
Steve Bunce: Why Taylor’s final fight isn’t about what happens in the ring
19:03 , Alex Pattle“It took minutes to convince everybody that Katie Taylor truly did deserve a final fight in front of 80,000 people at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday night.
“The tickets went on sale and then the tickets for boxing’s greatest final fight sold out; it was all over in 30 minutes of trading, and Taylor’s position as one of the most popular fighters in history was secure.
“The journey to the very end of the boxing line started so long ago when Taylor, with her hair in braids tucked inside a headguard, posed as a boy to have her first fight. A legend was born on a tiny amateur show, and the girl from Bray was on her way.”
Full preview by Steve Bunce:
Why Katie Taylor’s final fight is not about what happens in the ring
How can I watch tonight’s fights?
18:26 , Alex PattleTaylor vs Pili and its undercard will stream live on DAZN. You can purchase a subscription here, with plans starting at £15.99 per month.
In Ireland, national station RTE will also broadcast the action.
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Welcome: Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili LIVE
18:17 , Alex PattleKatie Taylor will bring down the curtain on her staggering boxing career tonight, as she fights one last time.
The Irish icon – an Olympic gold medalist and two-weight undisputed champion – will finally realise her dream of boxing at Dublin’s iconic Croke Park, as she faces the unbeaten Flora Pili.
Yet tonight’s main event is less about the result, which will crown an undisputed super-lightweight queen, and more about celebrating Taylor.
The 40-year-old is widely seen as the greatest women’s boxer in history, having played a pivotal role in bringing the sport to the Olympics, after getting her own start by pretending to be a boy.
Whatever happens tonight, Taylor’s legacy is secure, but this evening’s action will be must-watch regardless.
