The 42 Reports from Croke Park

KATIE TAYLOR WENT out as she came in 30-odd years ago, her canvas oiled in a masterpiece.

In a whir of leather, she punched out of work for the final time, stinging Flora Pili like an angry swarm of bees before floating like a butterfly into the sunset.

The first boxing headliner at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali in 1972, Taylor lived up to the billing. She always has done.

The 40-year-old exhibited hand-speed belying her years, footwork belying the condition of her right calf, and composure belying the magnitude of a historic occasion to create a formality of the fight itself.

There was to be no Mayo miracle at Croke Park for the befuddled Flora Pili, who will tell her descendants of her role in a legendary night of Irish sport, but will equally explain how the night belonged to somebody else.

Boxing for the final time ever, Taylor earned a landslide unanimous decision on scores of 100-90 x2, 98-91, her closest contender warmly applauding the judges’ decision.

Taylor, who had been tearful all week, seized the microphone during the post-fight process and individually thanked everybody involved in a career which has transformed boxing both in the amateur and professional ranks, and introduced her husband, Sean, for the first time publicly.

Unscratched after an imperious display, Taylor spoke with a greater authority than ever before, Croke Park hanging on her every word.

Promoter Eddie Hearn, draped in an Irish tricolour, serenaded Taylor afterwards from centre-ring, inviting Taylor to leave her gloves in the middle of the Croke Park ring, a time-honoured signal of her retirement.

Taylor did so, but first lapped the ring, celebrating with an audience of her own creation, soaking in one last ‘Ole, Ole’ before downing tools for the final time.

After a protracted, spectacular ring-walk, Taylor had controlled the opening round, boxing off the front foot and setting a pace with which Pili appeared uncomfortable.

The Irishwoman landed a punch or two from each combination, Pili’s guard tight but penetrable. The Frenchwoman delivered back one thudding right hand at the halfway point of the round, but the sound of ‘There’s Only One Katie Taylor’ from the 80-odd-thousand in attendance felt prescient.

The crowd pulled out all the tricks as Taylor bossed the second, her hand-speed and footwork befuddling Pili. A chorus calling her name was soon followed by a hearty rendition of The Fields of Athenry, and Croke Park rocked to Taylor’s rhythm as she popped her French visitor to both head and body. The razor-sharp Taylor led 2-0 in rounds after two.

Taylor, again, led the dance in the third, peppering Pili from all angles with jabs and one-twos. The Frenchwoman had her say — and it was the first she’d said of anything — with a fine finish to the round, catching Taylor with a couple of solid shots of her own.

The home boxer, though, reclaimed the momentum almost immediately in the fourth, her feet and technical acumen simply too astute for Pili to compute. The composed Taylor rose the crowd with several one-two combinations, taking an almost certain 4-0 lead.

Pili, a fine boxer, was probably beginning to realise that she would be able to tell her descendants about her role in a legendary night of Irish sport, but how the night belonged to somebody else.

She came on strong to start the fifth but Taylor got out of dodge with ease, sparking another chorus of ‘Katie, Katie’ at Croke Park.

She returned Pili’s serve with interest, pinging the Frenchwoman from range as she boxed off the back foot against an opponent whose aggression was born of desperation.

Taylor was demonstrable a league above Pili, who was hardly a no-mark, and she was halfway to a finish befitting her legendary career.

Katie Taylor celebrates after the victory. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

From Round 6, though, the bout took on a testimonial feel, Taylor realising her outright superiority and Pili beginning to make peace with an inevitable defeat.

The Bray woman occasionally landed in three-punch combos reminiscent of her glorious youth, while Pili was increasingly left to chase shadows.

The home fighter’s backhand right was beginning to win the fight on its own as Taylor constantly beat Pili to the punch in the seventh.

The home crowd cheered her every move, singing along to the likes of the Venga Boys between rounds before locking back in. They knew what they were watching, though: not an exhibition fight, but an exhibition of boxing by a great fighter against only a good fighter.

Entering Round 8, only six minutes of Taylor’s 30-year journey through boxing remained. ‘The Fields’ broke out once more.

In an unassailable lead, Taylor continued to pot-shot Pili, increasingly pinging her upstairs off the back foot as the visitor sought a spectacular comeback that was never going to happen.

Most of the ninth would have been a non-event but for the chants of ‘Katie, Katie’, with the champion eventually reclaiming centre-ring and popping Pili at her leisure. Taylor had won every round on this writer’s unofficial scorecard.

The crowd rose to meet Taylor ahead of the 10th and final round of her boxing career. The noise at Croke Park was something extraordinary, 80,000-plus people serenading an Irish sporting icon.

The round itself followed a similar pattern until the final 10 seconds. The warning sparked the old lunacy in Taylor, who threw with abandon towards Pili and invited the challenger to do the same, the crowd ballistic as the final throes of a legendary career played out the way in which Taylor would have wished.

Written by Gavan Casey and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.