Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili LIVE: Croke Park fight start time, undercard, updates and results tonight

Joe McGrail def. Matthew Boreland via fifth-round KO

Molly McCann def. Sylwia Doligala via decision

Paul Ryan def. Paddy Gallagher via decision

Bobbi Flood def. Jack Swallow via decision

Adam Olaniyan def. Matej Hudak via first-round KO

The most heartwarming image of the week?

Taylor coached a 10-year-old fan through some padwork, in a moving scene.

Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn said this week: “If Croker would have originally gone, ‘Yes, this is going to be massive,’ I would have gone, ‘wow’, and we would have done it.

“But it was like: ‘I don’t know.’ Blimey, if they’re not sure, do we really want to be gambling with these costs?

“People can deflate your spirit, which is quite unusual for me, but they did deflate my spirit a little bit over the years, because they made me question whether we could do it or if it would actually work.

“And I’m disappointed in myself, actually, that I allowed that to happen, because maybe we could have done it earlier. But then I didn’t have the confidence that I had going into it this time with [Irish promoter] Peter Aiken involved and the three Amanda Serrano fights [behind us].

“Croker helped out as well and they were fantastic in the end. But I never thought we’d do 40,000 tickets on a pre-sale. How many could we have done? I don’t know, maybe another 40,000, 50,000, 100,000?”

A reflection on Taylor’s career here, involving some fantastic quotes from various key figures in Irish fight sports.

“I remember seeing her move with my naked eye for the first time,” Irish journalist Peter Carroll told The Independent.

“She was 2-0. Me and maybe five other media guys are called to this tiny boxing gym in rural. The gym’s roof is leaking; it’s this rundown spot, there’s room for the boxing ring and nothing else.

“[But when she boxed], I was like: ‘What in the name of God is this?’”

That and much, much more here:

“The tickets went on sale and then the tickets for boxing’s greatest final fight sold out; it was all over in 30 minutes of trading, and Taylor’s position as one of the most popular fighters in history was secure.

“The journey to the very end of the boxing line started so long ago when Taylor, with her hair in braids tucked inside a headguard, posed as a boy to have her first fight. A legend was born on a tiny amateur show, and the girl from Bray was on her way.”

Full preview by Steve Bunce:

Pili, 29, will bring her own belt into the fight – the IBO strap – although that version of the world title is not always granted the same prestige as the other belts.

In any case, Pili will also enter this fight with an unbeaten record (12-0, 2 KOs), as she looks to pull off the upset in front of Taylor’s home crowd.

Does the French boxer stand a chance, though? Betway has her listed as a huge underdog at 10/1, while Taylor is 1/20, and the draw is 20/1.

Silvia Bortot is perhaps the only name of real note on Pili’s resume; in 2023, Pili won a split decision against the Italian, who has fought world champions Lauren Price and Mikaela Mayer in the last three years – losing to both on points.

Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili (Taylor’s IBF, WBA, WBO super-lightweight titles; vacant WBC belt)

Paddy Donovan vs Tyrone McKenna (welterweight)

Taylor Bevan vs Emmet Brennan (super-middleweight)

Joe McGrail vs Matthew Boreland (super-bantamweight)

Dave Allen vs Thomas Carty (heavyweight)

Molly McCann vs Sylwia Doligala (bantamweight)

Paul Ryan vs Paddy Gallagher (middleweight)

Bobbi Flood vs Jack Swallow (super-welterweight)

Adam Olaniyan def. Matej Hudak via first-round KO

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There are some preliminary fights under way as we speak, but the main card is due to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET).

Main-event ring walks are then due at approximately 10pm BST (2pm PT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET).