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

The 40-year-old retained her WBA, IBF and WBO super-lightweight belts to go the undisputed champion for a 3rd time.

Boxing large Katie Taylor has signed disconnected connected a glorious, title-laden vocation that blazed the way for women’s boxing successful her autochthonal Ireland and astir the satellite with a triumph implicit France’s Flora Pili successful Dublin.

Taylor brought the curtain down with a points triumph successful beforehand of 80,000 adoring fans astatine Croke Park connected Saturday.

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The 40-year-old retained her WBA, IBF and WBO super-lightweight belts and added the vacant WBC rubric to become the undisputed champion for a 3rd clip connected Saturday.

Taylor emerged for her last ringing locomotion to a deafening reception from the sold-out crowd, with fireworks, airy shows and chants of “Katie, Katie, Katie!” echoing astir the location of Irish Gaelic sports.

Taylor places her gloves successful the mediate of the ringing pursuing triumph successful her last combat [Charles McQuillan/Getty]

She utilized her superior question and timing to power overmuch of the aboriginal and mediate rounds, but the resilient Pili refused to fade.

The antecedently unbeaten 29-year-old French challenger came backmost powerfully successful the seventh, giving Taylor her astir hard round, earlier the Irishwoman steadied herself successful the eighth and reasserted control.

As the assemblage erupted into chants of “Ole! Ole! Ole!”, Taylor raised her arms and embraced Pili aft the last 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 triumph completed a singular travel for Taylor, who began boxing astatine a clip erstwhile girls were barred from amateur contention successful Ireland and sometimes entered bouts simply arsenic “K Taylor”.

She went connected to triumph Olympic lightweight golden astatine London 2012, erstwhile women’s boxing made its games debut, earlier turning nonrecreational 4 years later.

Taylor finishes her nonrecreational vocation with 26 victories and 1 defeat, having won satellite titles astatine lightweight and super-lightweight.

Her farewell besides brought top-level boxing backmost to Croke Park for the archetypal clip since Muhammad Ali defeated Al “Blue” Lewis successful 1972.