Katie Taylor Retires as Undisputed Champion After Glorious Boxing Career

Katie Taylor ended her career where Irish sporting history runs deep, walking out before 80,000 fans at Croke Park and leaving the ring as an undisputed champion for the third time.

The 40-year-old Irishwoman defeated France’s Flora Pili by unanimous decision on Saturday, retaining her WBA, IBF and WBO super-lightweight belts while adding the vacant WBC title. Fireworks, light shows and chants of “Katie, Katie, Katie!” greeted her final ring walk.

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Katie, Katie, Katie!

Taylor used movement and timing to control the early and middle rounds. Pili, a previously unbeaten 29-year-old, fought back in the seventh round and gave Taylor her toughest passage of the night. Taylor steadied herself in the eighth and regained control before the final bell.

As the crowd sang “Ole! Ole! Ole!”, Taylor raised her arms and embraced Pili. She later thanked her family, including her father, who taught her “how to fight”, and hugged her tearful mother.

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how to fight

Her farewell completed a career that helped open a path for women’s boxing in Ireland and around the world. Taylor began boxing when girls were barred from amateur competition in Ireland and sometimes entered bouts simply as “K Taylor”. She won Olympic lightweight gold at London 2012, when women’s boxing made its Olympic debut, then turned professional four years later.

Taylor finishes with 26 professional victories and one defeat. She won world titles at lightweight and super-lightweight, and her final fight brought elite boxing back to Croke Park for the first time since Muhammad Ali defeated Al “Blue” Lewis there in 1972.

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Ole! Ole! Ole!