Boxing world hails 'trailblazer' Katie Taylor ahead of Dublin swansong

This article was first published in June 2026. It was been republished on 5 September with fresh interviews and material

The boxing world is coming together to celebrate the the end of Katie Taylor's glittering career.

Her long-awaited farewell fight against Flora Pili in Croke Park, Dublin, takes place on Saturday night, with 80,000 people set to cram into Ireland's biggest stadium for the two-time undisputed light-welterweight champion's swansong.

Taylor's final fight has united fans, but there are those on this island who have a personal connection to the County Wicklow fighter and will be reflecting on her impact on the fight game, especially for women.

People like Alanna Nihell, who fought Taylor in a pioneering bout 25 years ago, and will be in the Croke Park crowd on Saturday to see Taylor box professionally in-person for the first time.

"I can't wait - I'm absolutely buzzing."

As a 15-year-old amateur, Taylor fought Nihell, then known as Alanna Audley, in the first women's fight sanctioned by the Irish boxing authorities.

Nihell, from Sandy Row in south Belfast, said that looking back now, her fight with Taylor at Dublin's National Stadium in October 2001 was an important milestone for women's boxing.

"On that day, the 15-year-old and 16-year-old girls didn't realise how much of an impact that night would have in the future," she told BBC News NI.

"It was massive, it was the building block in the right direction for female boxers, especially in Ireland.

"It wasn't allowed, there was no female boxing back then."

Nihell said she was "really proud" to have been a part of Taylor's journey and to have watched the growth of Irish and women's boxing.

She said she had remained good friends with Taylor throughout the years - and she was "still the same humble genuine person".

Taylor later claimed five World Championship golds at amateur level from 2006 to 2014, as well as a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.

The County Wicklow boxer has held multiple world titles as a professional.

Nihell, who is the elder sister of IBF world welterweight champion Lewis Crocker, went on to represent Ireland, Northern Ireland and GB as an amateur boxer - and claimed a bronze medal with Northern Ireland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She said there would be a lot of female boxers in attendance on Saturday, as well as many who will shape the future of Irish boxing.

"You'll have mums and dads taking their daughters to watch her."

Donegal referee Sadie Duffy said Taylor had a "special talent" [Getty Images]

Donegal referee Sadie Duffy, who raised Taylor's hand in victory after the bout against Nihell, will also be at Saturday's farewell fight.

She said it would be an emotional night and that she felt fortunate to be there.

Duffy said that even back in 2001, Taylor showed glimpses that she was destined for great things.

"She did show that night that she had a special talent. Even before the first girls' contest in the National Stadium, there had been small get-togethers and contests, and you could tell even then she was just a special talent," she told the BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"There were obviously a lot of issues and barriers, hurdles, for young girls in what is a male-dominated sport, and Katie really found it difficult to break through but gradually that glass ceiling was eventually smashed.

"From then until now, there has been a massive surge in young women joining boxing clubs right across the country."

Duffy said she had refereed Taylor a few times and always found her to be incredibly focused and disciplined in the ring.

She said she had become "more confident and more capable" with experience but she was still "very humble and also still quite reserved, as she is a very private person".

Carl Frampton said Saturday's fight could be a "fairytale ending" for Taylor [Getty Images]

Boxer Carl Frampton said it would be "hard to describe" what it would be like for Taylor to walk out at a packed Croke Park - but he said it was "only what she deserves".

He said Pili was a good fighter but Taylor had "already beaten better fighters".

"It's kind of set up to be the fairytale ending," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"Not to discount Pili at all, but there's levels to this game and Katie is a level above not just Pili but the vast majority of female fighters who have ever lived."

He said it would be an emotional night with an incredible atmosphere, but added that Taylor was well-placed to control her emotions as she had been "dealing with pressure throughout her whole career".

"Every fight she goes into, everybody expects her to win and that's its own type of pressure and it's no different here - well, the only difference is there's 80,000 people in the arena watching her."

Frampton sparred with Taylor when she was an amateur boxer and said she was faster than him "in terms of her hand speed".

"I couldn't have a boxing match with her - the only time I could have success was when I could get close and try to kind of out-strength her if that's a word."

Taylor has been a "trailblazer" for women's boxing, he added.

"It wasn't even an Olympic sport when she started and she fought for it to become a Olympic sport, she fought for the recognition of the girls and she's an inspiration to a nation of fighters in Ireland but also globally."

World Boxing Council (WBC) world champion Skye Nicolson agreed that Taylor has been "an incredible role model".

"She changed the game for every woman in the sport", said Nicolson, who will be ringside for the BBC's coverage of the fight.

"If it wasn't for her, women's boxing wouldn't have been in the Olympics and certanly wouldn't have been selling out stadiums around the world.

"It'll be a monumental night. It's going to be so special to see the whole country, and maybe even the whole world, come together for her last dance".

Taylor set to have Croke Park farewell confirmed

Katie Taylor 'will go down in history'

Taylor beats Serrano to complete trilogy clean sweep

Champion boxer receives 'guard of honour' at former school