When Katie Taylor steps into the ring on Saturday night to defend her titles and once again enthral Ireland, there will be a bittersweet tinge. After a singular career that pioneered women’s boxing, the super-lightweight champion and Olympic gold medallist is bowing out. She is 40 and it is to be her final bout.
Everything she did, it might not ever be achieved again.” There is consolation in the manner of her farewell. Taylor will fight in front of an 80,000-strong roaring, pulsing crowd at Dublin’s Croke Park, the citadel of Irish sport, in a valedictory like no other. Before tickets went on sale in June, some worried that a boxing match might not fill such a vast stadium.
The event out in 17 minutes. Westlife and other musical acts have joined the bill, adding to the sense of extravaganza. The national broadcaster, RTÉ, will broadcast proceedings free to air, so every home and pub can tune in for Price’s showdown with Flora Pili, an unbeaten French champion.
David Finnegan, 55, who was selling Taylor hats, flags and posters from a stall in her home town of Bray, County Wicklow, this week, said: “Business is tipping away. This is her farewell, everyone wants to be part of it.” Catherine Hill, 45, had a precious ticket and wanted a Taylor T-shirt for the occasion. It wasn’t like that before.” Another customer, Denise, 71, bought flags for a pub in Kerry where she planned to watch the bout.
She’s down to earth and still meets up with her friends here. She’s so good with the children.” Even those with no interest in boxing have been swept up in excitement for an athlete who is adored for blazing a trail in female sports with talent, grit and humility. Encouraged and trained by her father, Pete, Taylor began sparring as a young girl at a gym so rudimentary it was nicknamed the Tin Can.
Women and girls were banned from the ring in Ireland and the UK, so she disguised herself as a boy and signed up to bouts as “K Taylor”. Father and daughter helped to persuade Irish authorities to lift the ban in 2001, when she was 15, and were instrumental in having women’s boxing added to the Olympic Games. Taylor won gold at London 2012 and went on to headline Madison Square Garden and win an epic trilogy with Amanda Serrano.
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