Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili Live Updates and Highlights From Tonight's Card

It wasn't her best fight. But it'd be hard for Katie Taylor to top the event.

The 40-year-old Irish hero officially closed the books on her career with a clear unanimous decision over Flora Pili, earning two 100-90 shutouts on the scorecards and a 98-91 tally to become undisputed 140-pound champion for the second time.

"The gem, the jewel," blow-by-blow man Adam Smith said, "becomes undisputed. It is the end of an era. How much we will miss her. And now much we have loved her."

Officially, she exits at 26-1 as a pro and leaves with the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles in the super lightweight division, not to mention Ring Magazine's laurels, too.

It was the first fight at the venue since Muhammad Ali fought Alvin Lewis in 1972.

"We did it," Taylor said. "We brought boxing back to Croke Park."

Promoter Eddie Hearn, who was visibly emotional during the ring walk, was equally moved by Taylor's prolonged farewell speech after the fight.

"She's the most inspirational person I've ever met," he said. "She's the greatest Irish sports person of all time."

The crowd and her corner were revved up, but Taylor continued to go about her business in the final round of her professional career—bamboozling Pili with technique in the 10th.

They exchanged punches at the final bell, at which Taylor wrapped up what seemed to be a 99-91 win on the scorecards.

"Incredible," analyst Carl Frampton said, "she deserves it all."

The crowd audibly woke up in the seventh as Taylor provided some sustained offense and Pili offered her most consistent resistance. Pili was again determined to begin the eighth round and was moving forward, pressing Taylor along the ropes. Taylor still avoided damage, though, with better footwork and hand speed.

Unless she lands a difference-making shot, it seems hard to imagine Pili having a path.

More of the same in the ninth and we'll call it 8-1 in rounds, and 89-82 on points, for Taylor as they head to the "championship rounds."

They didn't encourage a pier-six brawl, but Taylor's corner did suggest she move her hands a little more in Round 4 to let Pili know that "she can't just walk to you."

Taylor by no means is a blur of activity, but Pili has done almost nothing offensively.

Pili looked amateurish by comparison, in fact, when she pressed the action earlier in the fifth and threw a flurry of punches, none of which landed as Taylor ducked, pivoted, and moved out of range. Then, just past the midway point of the fifth, Taylor scored with a crunching overhand right that stopped Pili in her tracks.

"There's no one who's achieved close to what she's done," said analyst Barry Jones, suggesting Taylor's going-away part is befitting the best athlete in her country's history.

She's halfway to a shutout win in her finale, leading 60-54 on the B/R card through six.

Taylor began the first round on the front foot and landed the fight's first telling punch, a sneaky right hand about a minute in. Pili, who seemed content to stay on the perimeter and wait to counter, threw a few punches and did land a couple of lefts late in the round.

Pili was more aggressive and Taylor began moving in the second, but Taylor's faster hands and willingness to let her hands go was giving her an edge, albeit not a dominant one.

Pili began the third with double jabs, following instruction from her corner, but didn't use the change in strategy to move her hands. Meanwhile, Taylor bounced in and out and landed the few shots that mattered.

It's no beatdown by any means, but it's 3-0 for Taylor—or 30-27 on points—on the B/R card.

Now that was a ring walk.

For the record, the video package began at 4:57 p.m. ET.

Taylor's music kicked in a minute later and the fighter herself walked a short tunnel and entered the open-air portion of the stadium at 4:59 p.m.

And then. Eruption.

"Iconic. Historic. Cultural," blow-by-blow man Adam Smith said. "To the land of poetry, dreamers and fighters. She dreamt of this. The Queen of the Emerald Isle."

Taylor stood on a platform at one of end of the stadium and drank in the atmosphere, then began a steady stride to the ring in front of an announced crowd of 84,000.

She stepped through the ropes at 5:02 p.m.

"An unbelievable occasion," Smith said, "but now a fight."

The Irish anthem was plenty to get the Croke Park crowd amped.

But then the promotion's unquestioned B-side, Flora Pili, made the loneliest ring walk of her career, climbing to a platform on one end of the stadium amid sing-song chanting.

"Fili has not crossed the Channel to become a footnote in history," blow-by-blow man Adam Smith said. "This is her private dream. Her moment, too."

Ring announcer David Diamante waved the green flag on the main event when he introduced Irish pop band Westlife to begin the ceremonies at 4:35 p.m. ET.

As for the fight, Taylor, 40, will walk to the ring and arrive with a 25-1 record with six KOs, though she hasn't fought since beating Amanda Serrano for the third straight time to end their trilogy at Madison Square Garden in July 2025.

It's the longest layoff of her career.

Pili, 29, meanwhile, is 12-0 with two KOs and last fought in December in France, where she beat Jelena Janićijević over 10 rounds.

This is her first try for a widely recognized championship belt.

Katie Taylor fought for her first world title, the WBA's crown at 135 pounds, in her seventh professional fight at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, in October 2017.

She won by 10-round decision and has had at least one belt on the line in each of 19 fights through a defeat of Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden in July 2025.

That win was her 25th in 26 career fights—a loss to Chantelle Cameron in May 2023 was avenged six months later—and the fight against Pili will provide a chance to leave with all four significant belts at 140 pounds, a status she had prior to the loss to Cameron.

Taylor had all four belts at 135 pounds from 2019 to 2022.

She regained all four belts at 140 when she beat Cameron in the rematch but relinquished the WBC title a year ago. The title was vacated by champion Sandy Ryan in June, and the WBC ordered a match between Taylor and Pili for the title.

Taylor and Pili are ranked first and second, respectively, at 140 by the WBC. Taylor is the Ring Magazine champion in the weight class, too, and Pili is unranked.

The celebrities came out for the pre-fight tributes.

A handful of A-listers, including singers Bono and Ed Sheeran, and golfing champion Rory McIlroy, were part of a video tribute to the retiring champion that was shown before the ring walk.

Tony Bellew never fought in Ireland across a 34-bout career in which he was a champion at cruiserweight and twice fought for titles at light heavyweight.

But he knew how to work the crowd during the run-up to the final fight.

"This is the biggest and best stadium I've ever seen for a boxing event," Bellew said. "This is the most special night in Irish sport history."

Europe's hit, "The Final Countdown," blared from the Croke Park speakers.

And it'd be nice if the fans enjoy it, because thanks to the scuttled co-main bout, it'll likely be a 45-minute plus stretch before the main event ring walks even begin.

That's left the broadcast team, understandably, to go into full Katie Taylor tribute mode.

"Messi has respect from football people because he performs on the pitch," analyst Carl Frampton said, "and that's exactly what Katie Taylor does."

The official time was 1:22 of the first round and the official decision was a no-contest after referee Emile Tiedt consulted with ringside personnel and waved the fight off.

Eventually, Carty was able to walk to the locker room under his power.

Allen left the ring soon after.

Prior to the stoppage, Carty started well from a southpaw stance and scored with a right jab followed by a straight left. Allen, meanwhile, pawed with a left jab and did little else.

Replays showed Allen connecting with a slapping blow to the back of Carty's head just before his opponent took his fight-ending tumble.

"I don't think it was intentional," analyst Mikaela Mayer said, "I think (Carty) saw the punch coming and turned his head."

Just 95 seconds after to co-main began, it was over.

Carty tumbled from the ring after pressing forward with a flurry toward the ropes. Allen stepped to his right, smacked Carty on the back of the head with his right hand, and Carty then went tumbling face-first between the top and second ropes and to the floor.

Soon after, Carty was shown sitting on the floor receiving oxygen from ringside personnel and he was standing alongside the ring within 10 minutes.

"This was supposed to be Thomas Carty's coming-out party," analyst Tony Bellew said, "and it's just turned into a nightmare."

Popular English heavyweight Dave Allen, known as the "White Rhino," makes the walk for the show's third fight and seeks a third straight win since a third-round KO by recently crowned WBC champ Filip Hrgovic four months ago.

Allen is 27-9-2 with 20 KOs and he's opposed by Irishman Thomas Carty, who's 11-1 with nine KOs and won in March after suffering his lone career loss, by second-round TKO, against Dajuan Calloway in New York City in March 2025.

The 12th finish in Donovan's 16 career wins officially arrived at 2:33 of Round 4 when referee Paul McCullagh waved things off after consulting with ringside medical personnel.

McKenna was cut on the right eye by a hard left hand and McCullagh stepped between the fighters just moments later to prompt the consultation.

Donovan was back on the offensive horse to begin the fourth and drove McKenna around the ring with snapping punches to the head. McKenna was cut alongside the right eye in the final minute of the fourth and a consultation with medical personnel brought a sudden end.

Donovan improved to 16-2 and registered his 12th stoppage while McKenna lost for the seventh time in his last 16 fights and was stopped for the third time.

"I think he's got it all," analyst Carl Frampton said.

Familiar foes after having sparred dozens of rounds together over the years, the fighters were largely cautious through the first two minutes before Donovan stepped in and landed a pair of hard body shots. Donovan's hands were noticeably faster, and he drew a nod from McKenna after landing a hard shot in the final 30 seconds of the first.

A right to the body dropped McKenna in the first minute of Round 2 and the older man went to the floor again after a shove about halfway through the round.

McKenna shifted to the front foot and tried to press the action in the third as Donovan seemed to step off the gas, but he failed to land anything of consequence.

It's Donovan by a mile—30-26 in points—through three on the B/R scorecard.

We'll drop a few rungs from super middleweight to welterweight for the second fight on the main show, when Paddy Donovan will take on Tyrone McKenna in an all-Irish 10-rounder.

Donovan is 15-2 with 11 KOs and unsuccessfully challenged for the IBF title at 147 pounds, losing by split decision, last September. McKenna, a 36-year-old, was 16-0-1 to start his career but is just 9-6 with two KO losses in his last 15 fights.

The official time was 0:36 of Round 6, giving Bevan his 10th straight win and ninth by KO after he'd scored five knockdowns.

"I thought he looked excellent tonight," analyst Carl Frampton said.

Indeed, it's hard to imagine anyone on the card surpassing the performance of the 25-year-old, who's expected to compete for domestic UK titles within a year or 18 months.

Bevan continued to work Brennan's body to begin the fourth, and, though Brennan continued to stand in, he was on the wrong side of punishing one-way traffic.

The fighters were in close to begin the fifth and Brennan moved his hands better than he had in any of the first four rounds, but Bevan's shots were still the most telling.

Brennan was dropped for a third time in the fight late in the fifth but again rose and got through a prolonged medical examination before the start of the sixth.

Two more knockdowns early in the sixth, one to the body and a last one to the head, brought a wave-off without a count from referee Padraig O'Reachtagain. Brennan was down for several moments before getting up and getting to his corner.

"It shouldn't have been allowed to happen," analyst Carl Frampton said.

Bevan left his stool determined to work Brennan's body, lashing him repeatedly with left hooks around the elbows and just above the beltline. Later in the first round, Bevan began following the hooks to the body with uppercuts through Brennan's raised gloves.

Brennan punched during Bevan's flurries to the body and was able to snap Bevan's head back with hooks intermittently in Round 2, but none of the shots did noticeable damage.

Bevan dropped Brennan twice in the final 45 seconds of the third round, first with a left hook then with a right to the temple, but the Irishman gamely rose both times and continued to begin the fourth.

Hardly a one-sided beatdown but Bevan has done enough to win each round and thus has a 30-26 points edge on the B/R scorecard through three.

It's a battle of unbeaten super middleweights to start the main show, with Welshman Taylor Bevan, who's 9-0 with 8 KOs, taking on Dublin's own Emmet Brennan, who arrives with a 6-0 record and a single KO win.

Neither has ever fought at Croke Park and each man went 10 rounds for the first time in his most recent fight. Bevan did so in June after winning his first eight fights in a combined 23 rounds.

They're scheduled for 10 rounds here.

Like the Ruiz fight card in New Jersey on Friday, the Taylor show in Ireland presents multiple opportunities for those interested in cashing in on upset hunches.

Taylor is a -2000 favorite according to lines set by DraftKings, and a $100 flyer on Pili, who's unbeaten in 12 pro fights, would yield a $1,000 profit.

Not only did Ruiz lose on Friday night, but so did -700 favorite Alan Chaves earlier on the card.

Elsewhere on Saturday's show, heavyweight Dave Allen, who's been KO'd five times in nine career losses, is a -245 proposition to beat +190 underdog Thomas Carty, and Tyrone McKenna and Emmet Brennan are +900 and +300 underdogs, respectively, in their main-card matches with Paddy Donovan and Taylor Bevan.