Eternal Katie Taylor does it her own way to the last as she defeats Pili in Croke Park farewell

“Let me just look around,” she said, cutting the ring interviewer off at the knees. He wanted Katie Taylor to say something inspiring and momentous worthy of the night but instead, as she’s always preferred, she acted rather than spoke. The lights went up and she drank in Croke Park, glistening now like a palace. Hers, finally and eternally.

She beat Flora Pili here, as expected, in one of the most straightforward fights of her career. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman landed a couple of good punches in the second round and had Taylor back-pedalling under the weight of some heavy blows in the seventh. But otherwise, Taylor’s last night of work in the ring was a spotless one.