KATIE TAYLOR started her career pretending to be a boy just to fight – now she earns more than “99 per cent” of the men.
The Irish icon closes the curtain on her glittering and trailblazing career on Saturday night at Croke Park against Flora Pili.
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It has been a long three-decade journey which started when she began boxing aged 12 after following her brothers Lee and Peter to the gym.
Due to a lack of female amateur bouts, Taylor went by the name “Kay” and hid her long hair in a head guard to go undetected.
She turned professional in 2016 with Eddie Hearn – after convincing the promoter to sign her – and turned the pay gap on its head.
Hearn said: “We’ve had two, I can’t call them arguments over the years, but we’ve had two heated conversations since I signed her.
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“Number one, I’ve told this story before for those of you who have heard it, but she fought in Boston. And sold out most of the arena on her own.
“And it was Demetrius Andrade, Tevin Farmer, and Katie Taylor. It’s the Cindy Serrano fight. The sister.
“And she came out, place went nuts, and after the final bell most of those people went home. That was it.
“And the next morning we went for breakfast and she said to me, ‘Can I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ She went, ‘How much did Tevin Farmer make last night?’
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The Home of Boxing in 2026
There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It has already been a blockbuster year inside the ring, and it is not going to stop anytime soon!
All eyes are focused on when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will get in the ring, with the pair due to finally settle their decade-long rivalry.
Katie Taylor calls time on her illustrious career this weekend at Croke Park as she faces Flora Pili, with the chance to become a three-time undisputed champion.
Conor Benn fights for his first world title one week later against Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas – it is The Destroyer’s second bout for Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.
October’s action doesn’t stop either, with Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois facing off in the rematch of their thrilling fight in May, while Canelo Alvarez returns against Christian Mbili on Halloween.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
September
- Sat 5 – Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili – DAZN
- Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN
- Sep 12 – Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian
- Sat 19 – Isaac Cruz vs Nestor Bravo – DAZN
October
- Sat 3 – Ben Whittaker vs Conor Wallace – DAZN
- Sat 17 – Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2 – DAZN
- Sat 31 – Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbili – DAZN
*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, well, uh.’ And I told her. And it was probably three times as much as she made. And she said, ‘Do you think that’s fair?’
“And I was like, ‘No.’ I said, ‘But I just think that’s the world and where we are right now.’
“She’s like, ‘Well how can I sell more tickets? How can more people be interested in me? How can more people want to tune in to watch me fight, yet he’s making three times the money?’
“I said, ‘Because he’s a man.’ I said, ‘And that’s what you need to change.’ And we’re on the way.
“Now she’s making more than 99 per cent of male fighters out there as well.”
Taylor, 40, sold out New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden in 2022 when she beat Amanda Serrano, 37, in their thriller.
And the pair celebrated historic $1million paydays.
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By the time they rematched two years later – with Taylor again winning a controversial decision – the Bray legend pocketed $6MILLION.
That is 1,000x more than Hearn paid Taylor for her Wembley Arena debut – the night she turned archaic boxing brains into believers.
He said: “I think we paid her, oh man, she still has a go at me about it, six grand for her debut for a four rounder.
“Which was at the time in women’s boxing, by the way, was a lot of money.
“But I just didn’t know. And I said to my dad, ‘Oh, we’re gonna put Katie Taylor on last.’ And he’s like, ‘What? A women’s fight?’
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, dad, like she’s unbelievable. You gotta watch her.’ ‘Oh mate, no one’s interested in women’s boxing.’ You know, the same sort of thing Frank Warren would say or anyone from that era.
“And he watched her debut and he was like, ‘Oh my god.’ And from there, the story’s been unbelievable like what she’s done when we look back.”
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Taylor will end her career as a two-time undisputed world champ in two different weights, with a 2012 London Olympic gold medal too.
And she looks to retire by beating Pili, 29, for all four 140lb super-lightweight titles.
But the missing jewel in Taylor’s diamond career was a farewell fight in Croke Park – which Hearn finally delivered after years of agonising talks.
Tickets sold out within an hour – with over 80,000 expected to fill the national stadium – with Irish movie star Barry Keoghan starring in a tear-jerking trailer to promote the bout.
Hearn beamed: “I just can’t wait to feel it. It’ll be unbelievably emotional.
“I mean that that promo video, I’m not I’m not afraid to say it. I cried! When I say I cried. No, but this is like, it’s a bit embarrassing.
“Not like, oh, a tear came out. Like literally floods of tears. And you’re welling up.
“And I’m thinking, blimey, this ring walk’s gonna be truly one of the greatest moments in sport we’ve ever seen.
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“Yes, one of the biggest events Irish sport has ever seen, biggest female boxing event obviously, but maybe even sporting event of all time.
“I just think everyone’s gonna go, ‘Wow!’ I can’t I can’t believe it’s happening.”