Did you watch the Katie Taylor fight? 🥊🇮🇪

Matthew wrote on Mon Sep 7, 2026 7:26pm:

I dont think you’re in for any rollicking Airtaine. Katie Taylor probably is Ireland’s greatest sporting hero. 80,000+ people in Croke Park was a fitting send-off for her. The occasion was heavy on razz-a-mataz, fireworks, flash lighting shows, name dropping and everything else to sex-up the ...

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...show. Only a few weeks ago the press reported that great financial risks were being taken and many thought the stadium would fall short of being sold out. 

The French opponent chosen was young, unbeaten, had a longer reach, stronger punch and was formidable. Again, many thought the challenger was overall way inferior to Katie. The bout went the full distance. Katie Taylor won. She was gracious, thankful and humble. She’s 42/43 years old, married and I hope her Ring Walk having laid her title belts on the floor was final. The boxers were not unduly hurt and both walked off the arena. 

Airtaine wrote on Mon Sep 7, 2026 6:09pm:

Gonna get a rollicking here but have to ask.

Was it just me, or did anyone else get a lump in their throat watching it all unfold?

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You didn't have to be Irish to get a sense of just how special the occasion was. 

Around 82,000 people packed into Croke Park — not just any stadium, but one of Ireland's most iconic and historic sporting venues.

To see Katie Taylor fighting there, in front of the biggest crowd ever for a boxing event in Ireland, made the whole thing feel bigger than just a fight.

The atmosphere, the history of the place, the occasion and the emotion… you could feel it even through the television.

I would have loved to have been there. What a night. ☘️🥊

Airtaine wrote on Tue Sep 8, 2026 8:08am:

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I think you're being a bit cynical.

Yes, Katie has always had her detractors, and not everyone was convinced beforehand that Croke Park would sell out. But it did and very quickly. 

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The 40,000 pre-sale tickets went, with the remaining tickets selling out within minutes of general sale, and more than 80,000 people were there on the night.

As for the opponent, Flora Pili was young and unbeaten, but I don't think many people are pretending the fight itself was a classic. In fact, plenty of reports described it beforehand as something close to a testimonial, and Taylor won comfortably.

But I think that's missing the point of why the night meant so much to people. It wasn't just about whether every punch was edge-of-your-seat stuff. It was about the occasion, the location, the journey and what Katie Taylor has meant to Irish sport and 83,000 people turning up at Croke Park for a woman's final boxing match is a pretty extraordinary answer to anyone who doubts that.

You don't have to think she is Ireland's greatest sporting hero, of course. That's subjective. But for me, dismissing what happened that night as simply razzmatazz misses something much bigger.

Eighty thousand plus people weren't there just to watch a boxing match. They were there to say thank you to someone who had given Irish sport so much and to share one last moment with her in a place that made it feel bigger than sport.

I feel you don't have to be Irish to understand that. 

Sometimes one can feel the importance of an occasion through the screen. And if you didn't feel 'something' watching that crowd, in that stadium, saying goodbye to one of their own, then I think one has missed the heart of the whole thing.

Matthew wrote on Tue Sep 8, 2026 8:48am:

I used the word razz-a-mataz  just to describe the on the day build-up to the boxing match. I did say Katie is our greatest Irish sports hero. And for me not to mention Rachael Blackmore that’s a great compliment to Katie. I bet Devo was of two minds also, but Devo is well able to post for...

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... himself.

I’m savouring the moment, such success does not come often to Irish shores. So, let me nail my colours to the mast and say I’m delighted and proud of her and her achievements. Well Done Katie.

Dropsy wrote on Wed Sep 9, 2026 5:12pm:

It was a fitting sendoff for one of Irelands greatest sports people and  ambassador for women's sport in ireland.

She has had to overcome lots of obstacles in her journey. Overcoming the anti women's boxing brigade with her father pretending she was a boy to get her started in a boxing club at a young age. The shock of her father getting shot and wounded and one of his friends being shot dead in a boxing clu...

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...b in Bray County Wicklow.  And she leaves to live in the US with her new husband and his 5 children I am sure the TV networks will be in to offer her a spot as commentator or pundit. Well deserved retirement 👏