Katie Taylor fully focused on task at hand as Croke Park swansong looms

Days out from the final fight of her career, Katie Taylor says her greatest legacy is not her titles or achievements, but the opportunities she has created for young women in sport.

Days out from the biggest and last final fight of her career, Katie Taylor says her greatest legacy of her 30-year in boxing is the doors biggest takeaway from her career is the doors she has opened for other young females in sport.

Forty40-year-old Taylor faces Flora Pilli for the undisputed super-lightweight world title at Croke Park on Saturday, and speaking at the first press conference of fight week, the Bray native said she hoped that the young people in the crowd are inspired by what they see.

“I’m so proud to be Irish, to represent this amazing country every single time I step into the ring. I’m looking back on my own career, and I started as a boxer at 10 years old, where I had to disguise myself as a boy to actually get a few fights, and there I was walking into some gyms, being laughed at because I was this girl trying to be a boxer, and I had to earn their respect.

“I’m so happy and delighted that these young girls coming through don’t have to go through the same struggles that I had to go through. The door is open for them, and you walk into every boxing room now in the country, it’s packed with female fighters, and that to me is the greatest part of the legacy.

“Saturday night is going to inspire a new generation, I can’t wait to hear the stories of the girls who took up sport because of an amazing night at Croke Park. It’s going to be a remarkable.”

Saturday is a night to celebrate a legendary career, but Taylor says it’s not the time for reflection yet as she faces a hungry, undefeated prospect.

“The most important thing is that I get my hand raised, and in training camp, it’s business as per usual for me. and I have a real live opponent in front of me, it’s not going to be a walk in the park, she’s here to win as well, and I’m very, very aware of that.

“I have allowed myself to think about it small over the last few months, and just thinking about the years in the ring, all the amazing people out there, all the amazing sparring partners, having a chance to headline these amazing arenas, and now I get to end my dream career in my dream venue at Croke Park, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.

“I’m just a few days away from making my last ring walk in Croke Park in front of 80,000 people. I’m not sure if there’s any other country in the world where 80,000 people turn up for a female athlete, and I’m so grateful for the support.

“This country has traveled around the world with me, to London, Manchester, Leeds, Brooklyn, Boston, Dallas, New York. I just want to say to you all, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.”