Katie Taylor: One Last Time

Katie Taylor: One Last Time

It will be a fight week full of emotion. The final fight, even more so. A truly trailblazing career will take it’s final bow this weekend. The perfect swansong. And the most deserving.

Katie Taylor has that final dance on Saturday night. Unlike many, this really will be it. Taylor really will walk away. This is no fake retirement. The end is nigh. There won’t be a comeback six months or a year down the line. This will be the very last opportunity to embrace a Katie Taylor fight night.

The unbeaten Flora Pili will be in the opposite corner. All four world super-lightweight titles will be on the line. Taylor defends her WBC, WBA, and IBF 140-pound titles. The vacant WBO belt will also be on the line. If Taylor wins, she will leave the sport an undisputed champion. Again. The third time that she would have accomplished that feat.

“I’m still pinching myself that this is actually happening, to be honest,” Taylor said at Tuesday’s press conference. “I’m just a few days away from making my last ringwalk in Croke Park. This is an absolute dream in front of 80,000 people. It’s going to be an amazing night for Irish sport, Irish boxing and women’s sport in general. I think we can be very proud as a nation as well. I’m not sure if there’s any other country in the world where 80,000 people turn up for a female athlete. I’m so, so grateful for the support. I’m blown away by it, to be quite honest.”

“I want to put on a performance worthy of everyone’s support over the years,” an emotional Taylor added. “This country has travelled around the world to watch me fight. They’ve travelled to London, to Manchester, Leeds, Brooklyn, Boston, Dallas, New York, and they’ll be with me on Saturday night as well. I just want to say to you all thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I’m so grateful. Thank you.”

It will be extremely difficult for Taylor to hold all those emotions together. There is a fight to win. The odds say that is a mere formality. Taylor will know nothing is guaranteed in boxing. She won’t leave anything to chance. The farewell needs to be a fond farewell.

Katie Taylor is undoubtedly the most important female fighter of the modern era. When the former Olympian champion turned professional in 2016, everything changed for women’s boxing. “Katie was monumental for us all when she turned professional,” Natasha Jonas told FightPost. “There was a scene, but it wasn’t really visible. Nobody was interested. So it was big news when Katie turned over.”

Katie just made people watch,” Jonas added. “We all knew women’s boxing was good, but we were just waiting for the world to see it.”

The world did see it. Monumental nights. Unforgettable fights. Delfine Persoon in New York. Taylor showed immense guts to survive a real scare against her relentless marauding opponent. A forgotten lockdown classic against her old rival Natasha Jonas in that eerie Manchester setting. ‘Miss GB’ was seemingly in the ascendancy. Taylor found what she needed.

But it was that incredible night in 2022 that probably was the final nail in the coffin for those who refused to accept women’s boxing was mainstream. People did care.

Taylor was back at Madison Square Garden. That old historic building hosted another night of history. Taylor and Amanda Serrano headlined and served up a brutal spectacle. Taylor was on the brink again. Hurt and looking ready to be knocked out by Serrano. But Taylor survived and rallied to win a deserved split decision. It was a close call. But don’t believe those who said it was controversial. Taylor won it fair and square.

Chantelle Cameron ruined that Dublin homecoming in 2023. The only defeat on her resume. Cameron deserved her win and was inspired. But Taylor got her revenge six months later. It was some night. Her vocal faithful cheering her every success. In many ways, it was almost the most important win of her career.

“It was probably the longest six months of my life waiting for that rematch,” Taylor told me a few months ago. “I knew stepping into that rematch, I was a different fighter. I knew the world would see a different version of me. That was a very important victory. A very important fight. That was a must-win fight. That was also a highlight for me, getting that revenge. That was a redemption moment for me.”

Two more fights with Serrano followed. Taylor was a little fortunate to have her hand raised in the second meeting with the Puerto Rican legend. The trilogy fight was far more clear-cut. Taylor ended that rivalry 3-0. Her greatness was cemented even more.

But at 40, Taylor knows enough is enough. Nothing lasts forever. Taylor will leave on her terms. The dream setting to end a career full of incredible highs.

Taylor knows she has to win. A defeat would be unthinkable. But once the final bell has chimed, Taylor will be able to look back on what she has achieved.

“I will obviously have a fight to focus on,” Taylor quite rightly pointed out. “But once this fight is over, I will be able to look back on my career with a heart full of gratitude. I have dreamed of things as a kid, impossible dreams, to become an Olympic champion, and I did. I dreamt of one day headlining Madison Square Garden, and that came to pass. Meeting and fighting on the same card as Mike Tyson. Those sorts of things are just incredible. And to end my career at Croke Park, it’s like a fairytale ending. I am super grateful.”

Taylor will walk into the Hall of Fame in the coming years. Another moment of celebration of a quite remarkable career. But Croke Park is first. One final night to celebrate. It will be a party atmosphere. 80,000 fans saying goodbye to their hero. It will be sad and joyful in equal measure. But for Katie Taylor, it’s business. The final dance. She knows she has to fight. And win.