Ireland’s boxing great Katie Taylor bows out as undisputed champion

Boxing great Katie Taylor has signed off on a glorious, title-laden career that blazed the trail for women’s boxing in her native Ireland and around the world with a win over France’s Flora Pili in Dublin.

Taylor brought the curtain down with a points victory in front of 80,000 adoring fans at Croke Park on Saturday.

The 40-year-old retained her WBA, IBF and WBO super-lightweight belts and added the vacant WBC title to become the undisputed champion for a third time on Saturday.

Taylor emerged for her final ring walk to a deafening reception from the sold-out crowd, with fireworks, light shows and chants of “Katie, Katie, Katie!” echoing around the home of Irish Gaelic sports.

She used her superior movement and timing to control much of the early and middle rounds, but the resilient Pili refused to fade.

The previously unbeaten 29-year-old French challenger came back strongly in the seventh, giving Taylor her most difficult round, before the Irishwoman steadied herself in the eighth and reasserted control.

As the crowd erupted into chants of “Ole! Ole! Ole!”, Taylor raised her arms and embraced Pili after the final bell.

The judges awarded Taylor a unanimous decision.

Afterwards, Taylor thanked her family, including her father, who taught her “how to fight”, and hugged her tearful mother.

The victory completed a remarkable journey for Taylor, who began boxing at a time when girls were barred from amateur competition in Ireland and sometimes entered bouts simply as “K Taylor”.

She went on to win Olympic lightweight gold at London 2012, when women’s boxing made its games debut, before turning professional four years later.

Taylor finishes her professional career with 26 victories and one defeat, having won world titles at lightweight and super-lightweight.

Her farewell also brought top-level boxing back to Croke Park for the first time since Muhammad Ali defeated Al “Blue” Lewis in 1972.