Katie Taylor Bows Out With Historic Croke Park Victory

Taylor thanked those who had helped her throughout her career after the decision was announced, paying particular tribute to her father Pete and his role in the development of women's boxing in Ireland.

Katie Taylor has brought one of Irish sport's greatest careers to a close with victory over Flora Pili on a landmark night at Croke Park.

In front of a sell-out Dublin crowd, Taylor successfully defended her undisputed super-lightweight crown with a commanding unanimous decision victory in what she had confirmed would be the final fight of her career.

But this was a night that stretched far beyond the result.

Almost 25 years after Taylor took part in Ireland's first officially sanctioned female boxing contest, she walked into a packed Croke Park as the headline attraction, becoming the first boxer to top a bill at the stadium since Muhammad Ali fought there in 1972.

The Bray fighter controlled much of the contest against the previously unbeaten Pili, using the speed, movement and combinations that have defined her career.

The French challenger enjoyed some success as the fight progressed, briefly catching Taylor with a strong shot in the seventh, but never seriously threatened to spoil the occasion.

Taylor finished strongly before the pair embraced after the final bell.

The judges returned scores of 100-90, 100-90, and 98-91 in the Irishwoman's favour.

It brought the curtain down on a career which fundamentally changed the landscape of women's boxing in Ireland and far beyond it.

From Olympic gold at London 2012 and world titles across two professional weight divisions, to her defining battles with Amanda Serrano and Chantelle Cameron, Taylor spent much of her career breaking through barriers that existed when she first entered a boxing gym.

Her final achievement was perhaps the most symbolic of them all: filling Croke Park as the undisputed star of the show.

Taylor thanked those who had helped her throughout her career after the decision was announced, paying particular tribute to her father Pete and his role in the development of women's boxing in Ireland.

There were bigger battles during Katie Taylor's career, and certainly more dramatic nights inside the ring.

But there could hardly have been a more fitting place for it to end victorious, draped in the Irish flag, in front of a packed Croke Park.