T IN THE PARK
A ttending a once-in-a- lifetime boxing event can be spellbinding. It would have felt that way when Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali clashed in “The Fight of the Century” in 1971. It did feel that way when I was in Riyadh for the first Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury fight in 2023. On September 5, it was that way again when I was ringside for the undisputed junior welterweight title bout between champion Katie Taylor and challenger Flora Pili. You could see the sparkle in people’s eyes. What made this one so special? Well, take iconic Irish warrior Taylor, her dream venue of Croke Park in Dublin and 83,000 fans, confirm it’s her last fight and give those ingredients a serious shake. What you have in your glass is a super-strong Emerald Isle cocktail that was 10 years in the making and guaranteed to blow your mind. When someone says, “You had to be there,” you really did. Irish pop band Westlife took to a specially erected stage and performed “You Raise Me Up” before the main event. When the live act departed, the capacity crowd sang along to popular anthems like “Wonderwall” by Oasis, “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi and “Zombie” by The Cranberries. The walls of sound would have reverberated for miles. Everywhere you looked was another member of Irish boxing royalty: Steve Collins, Wayne McCullough, Michael Conlan and Carl Frampton. The great featherweight king Barry McGuigan couldn’t attend due to a family commitment but sent Taylor a personal message. Megastars from other fields, including Bono, Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan and Rory McIlroy appeared on the jumbo screen to wish Taylor well. The event was a celebration of Taylor’s extraordinary exploits as both a sporting hero and a hero of the people. In terms of cultural significance, Croke Park is one of the most iconic stadiums in Europe. The headquarters for the Gaelic Athletic Association, this is the main locale for traditional Irish
sports like hurling, which can be traced back approximately 3,000 years, and Gaelic football. While Taylor made her Irish debut at the 3Arena in Dublin against Chantelle Cameron and then avenged a points loss at the same venue in 2023, performing at Croke Park became something of an obsession for the 40-year-old fighter from Bray. This stadium is a beacon of national pride and identity in Ireland. On November 21, 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, Croke Park became a literal killing ground. In retaliation for the assassination of suspected British Intelligence agents by Irish leader Michael Collins’ IRA squad in Dublin, British Forces descended on Croke Park during a Gaelic football match in search of suspects. The situation escalated rapidly, leading to 13 spectators and one player, Michael Hogan, being shot dead. The stadium’s main stand was named after Hogan in 1924, and despite it being restructured twice, he is still honored over a century after the Bloody Sunday massacre.
In terms of sweet science history, Taylor’s swan song was the first time a boxing show was held at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali scored an 11th-round stoppage against American contender Al “Blue” Lewis on July 19, 1972. That night, around 8,000 of 18,725 fans crashed the gate due to high ticket prices and partied the night away. Ali did his thing, dropping Lewis in the fifth with a sharp right hand before cruising to victory. The show itself was a financial disaster and left local promoter Michael “Butty” Sugrue roughly £20,000 (almost $28,000 at the time) out of pocket. To say that Taylor usurped “The Greatest” at Croke Park would be an understatement. When it was time for the main event, the crowd stood as one for the national anthem. Suddenly, a laser-focused Taylor appeared on the jumbo screen at the entrance to the arena, sending the fans into a frenzy. Taylor then made what would be her final ring walk to “All Hail King Jesus” by Bethal Music (sung by Bethany Wohrle). Famed ring announcer
David Diamante needn’t have bothered getting dressed up for the occasion, because you could barely hear a word he said throughout the introductions. “It was everything I expected and more,” said Taylor at the post-fight press conference. “Thankfully, I was able to hold my emotions together. I’d been getting emotional all week speaking about this event. The atmosphere was so special and beyond my wildest dreams. “I said in the ring that I don’t think there’s another country in the world that’ll sell 83,000 tickets for a female
athlete. I’m convinced that Ireland is the only country that would do that. This was definitely the highlight of my whole career.” Now, let that sink in. Taylor has reigned as undisputed champion at lightweight and twice at junior welterweight. She’s headlined at Madison Square Garden alongside Amanda Serrano, which produced the consensus choice for greatest fight in women’s boxing history. Approximately 74 million viewers tuned into Netflix to watch Taylor double up on her win
over Serrano on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard in Arlington, Texas. She’s proven herself the finest pound- for-pound fighter in the world in an era replete with elite-level contemporaries. All of that, but Taylor categorically stated that her final bow at Croke Park was the keystone moment of her career. The one person who must have felt so alone amid all the celebration was Flora Pili. Imagine feeling like a party crasher from out of town in front of 83,000 Irish fans. This was the biggest night of the 29-year-old French fighter’s career,
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