Katie Taylor's Farewell Fight at Croke Park: A Coronation and Goodbye

Katie Taylor’s last stand has the feel of a coronation and a goodbye rolled into one.

On Saturday night at Croke Park, in the city that raised her and the stadium she has chased for years, Taylor closes the book on a remarkable professional career. One more walk. One more ring. One more set of belts on the line.

Taylor’s farewell on home soil

Taylor, 25-1, isn’t just defending titles; she is trying to leave as the undisputed queen at 140 pounds. She arrives with the WBA, WBO, IBF and The Ring super lightweight belts and will reclaim the vacant WBC strap if she beats Flora Pili, the mandatory challenger who stands between her and a perfect ending.

She has been here before. From 2023 to 2025, Taylor ruled the division as undisputed champion before vacating the WBC title to step away from the grind and take a long-awaited break. Sixteen months have passed since her last outing, a thunderous trilogy finale with Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden that felt like the closing chapter of an era.

Yet there was always one more line to write.

Taylor made it clear she would only lace up the gloves again for a single reason: Croke Park. Dublin. A homecoming on the grandest stage Ireland can offer. Promoter Eddie Hearn promised he would make it happen, and now calls this the biggest and greatest night of his career. It is that sort of night. A career-defining stage not just for Taylor, but for everyone who follows her through the ropes.

The main event, billed as “Once Upon a Time,” is exactly that — a storybook send-off. It also serves as the second act of a Matchroom Boxing takeover, following a separate show headlined by Andy Ruiz and Damian Knyba in a Matchroom-branded edition of “The Fight.”

Irish fire on the undercard

Taylor isn’t carrying the flag alone.

In the co-main event, Paddy Donovan steps back under the lights looking to build momentum again. The talented Irish welterweight meets Tyrone McKenna over 10 rounds, aiming to turn a recent rebound into a genuine run. Donovan edged Karen Chukhadzhian by majority decision over 12 rounds in May, a crucial win after back-to-back defeats to former IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker had stalled his rise.

The stakes are different for Donovan than for Taylor, but the theme is similar: repair, rebuild, and remind people who you are.

Heavyweight cult hero David Allen also adds his name to the Croke Park billing, a familiar face in a new setting. He takes on 11-1 Dublin heavyweight Thomas “The Bomber” Carty in a 10-round clash that promises noise, pressure and plenty of swings. Allen has barely stopped moving this year, fighting for the fourth time in five months, and arrives off consecutive four-round decision wins over Ross McGuigan and Dan Garber. The rounds are short, the schedule is not. He thrives on it.

Further down the card, Taylor Bevan meets Emmet Brennan at super middleweight, Joe McGrail faces Matthew Boreland at super bantamweight, and middleweight Paul Ryan takes on Paddy Gallagher over eight rounds. Heavyweight Adam Olaniyan opens his account for the night against Matej Hudak in a four-rounder, while Bobbi Flood meets Jack Swallow at junior middleweight.

Molly McCann crosses codes again

Before Taylor’s ring walk, another familiar name from a different world steps through the ropes.

“Meatball” Molly McCann, once a fixture of the UFC women’s flyweight division, continues her boxing journey in what will be her fifth professional bout. The 36-year-old faces Sylwia Doligala, 8-2-2, in an eight-round junior featherweight contest on the Taylor vs. Pili prelims.

McCann’s move from the cage to the ring has drawn curiosity and a loyal following. Croke Park gives her a serious platform, and Doligala’s record makes this more than a novelty assignment.

Start times and how to watch: Croke Park

The Croke Park card begins with prelims at 11 a.m. ET, rolling into the main broadcast from 2 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. BST. All of it is available live on DAZN from Dublin, Ireland.

Full Croke Park fight card:

• (C) Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili, 10 rounds, for the undisputed women’s super lightweight titles
• Paddy Donovan vs. Tyrone McKenna, 10 rounds, welterweight
• David Allen vs. Thomas Carty, 10 rounds, heavyweight
• Taylor Bevan vs. Emmet Brennan, 10 rounds, super middleweight
• Joe McGrail vs. Matthew Boreland, 10 rounds, super bantamweight
• Molly McCann vs. Sylwia Doligala, 8 rounds, women’s junior featherweight
• Paul Ryan vs. Paddy Gallagher, 8 rounds, middleweight
• Adam Olaniyan vs. Matej Hudak, 4 rounds, heavyweight
• Bobbi Flood vs. Jack Swallow, 4 rounds, junior middleweight

A second show for the diehards: Spomer in Germany

For those who want to start their day with leather flying, the action begins much earlier in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where Slawa Spomer tops a 10-fight card promoted by Aldo Ricardo Silman and Primora Boxing.

Spomer, a former NABO super welterweight title challenger, meets undefeated Ghanaian Faisal Abubakari over 10 rounds at welterweight. The German is still rebuilding his name after a punishing nine-round defeat to former WBA and WBO 154-pound champion Xander Zayas in February 2025. Since that beating, Spomer has steadied himself with a third-round TKO over Jaime Villegas in February and now tries to push forward again in front of home support.

He is one of 11 German fighters on the Rheinland-Pfalz bill, which leans heavily into local talent and long-term projects.

The undercard features:

• Fedor Michel vs. Ralfs Vicans, 10 rounds, light heavyweight
• Ibo Diallo vs. Shefat Isufi, 10 rounds, cruiserweight
• Franklyn Dwomoh vs. Cristian Villanueva, 8 rounds, lightweight
• Dominique Roundtree vs. Tamas Kiliti, 6 rounds, featherweight
• Alexander Okafor vs. Daniil Iudin, 6 rounds, light heavyweight
• Omar Jagana vs. Mario Turiello, 6 rounds, light middleweight
• Jasurbek Yuldoshev vs. Jacob Miller, 6 rounds, light heavyweight
• Sebastian Busch vs. Artur Andrejev, 4 rounds, super middleweight
• Lucas Vogt vs. Sun Tiebo, 4 rounds, light middleweight

The Ludwigshafen show starts at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT, also live on DAZN.

Two countries. Two very different nights. One promotion running the table on the boxing schedule.

Yet all roads, all cameras, and most of the emotion will drift back to Dublin, where Katie Taylor walks out at Croke Park with everything she ever wanted in front of her — and nothing left to prove.