Katie Taylor Makes Weight for Croke Park Farewell Fight
Katie Taylor has made weight for the final time in her professional career. One more walk. One more ring. One more night under the lights – and she gets it at Croke Park.
At 40, the undisputed lightweight great will close the book on a remarkable career on Saturday in Dublin, facing unbeaten contender Flora Pili with everything on the line. The pound‑for‑pound queen wanted a farewell on home soil, under the stadium lights she has long imagined. Now it is within touching distance.
Taylor came in at 139.6 pounds at Friday’s weigh‑in, locked in and lean, with Pili just a shade heavier at 139.9. The numbers were routine. The moment was not.
Their final faceoff carried the weight of history as much as the weight of the division. Pili, undefeated and unawed, stared down a legend preparing to say goodbye in front of her own people. Taylor, expression composed but eyes burning, held the gaze of the last opponent she will ever share a ring with.
"I'm just so excited, to be honest," Taylor said after stepping off the scales. "I've been saying all week how grateful I am for this opportunity. I just can't believe that I've been dreaming about this for the last few years and we're one day away from making this fight happen; one day away from ending my career in my dream venue, in Croke Park."
That is the backdrop to Saturday’s card, which begins on DAZN at 2 p.m. ET, with Taylor headlining a bill built to match the occasion.
Main event set, heavyweights and prospects ready
Behind Taylor vs. Pili, the rest of the main card also made weight without drama.
Heavyweight veteran Dave Allen tipped the scales at a hefty 279.5 pounds for his clash with Thomas Carty, who checked in at a much trimmer 256.2. It is the classic contrast: Allen’s experience and bulk against Carty’s fresher legs and lighter frame.
Welterweight prospect Paddy Donovan, one of the more eye‑catching talents on the rise, came in at 146.3 pounds for his meeting with the seasoned Tyrone McKenna, who weighed 146.8. It has the feel of a crossroads fight – the young charge trying to kick down the door, the hardened campaigner determined not to be a stepping stone.
At super middleweight, Taylor Bevan weighed 169.3 pounds, with Emmet Brennan at 167.2, completing a main card that blends local interest, established names, and emerging stories around Taylor’s farewell.
Molly McCann’s new chapter gathers pace
Hours before Taylor walks, another familiar name from a different combat world continues to reshape her career.
Former UFC fighter Molly McCann, now 4-0 as a professional boxer, returns on the prelims and again looked comfortable on the scales at 119.4 pounds. Across from her, Sylwia Doligala registered 119.5, leaving their bout locked in for the early portion of the show, which begins at 11 a.m. ET.
McCann and Doligala went nose‑to‑nose in their faceoff, the Liverpudlian bringing the same intensity that made her a fan favourite in MMA into this new chapter. The stakes are different from Taylor’s, but the ambition is clear: to prove she belongs with real boxing pedigree, not just crossover curiosity.
The undercard rounds out with a series of evenly matched contests:
- Joe McGrail (121.9) vs. Matthew Boreland (121.7)
- Bobbi Flood (155.3) vs. Jack Swallow (156.2)
- Adam Olaniyan (257.5) vs. Matej Hudak (293)
- Paul Ryan (161.1) vs. Paddy Gallagher (162.7)
Each man made weight, each bout locked in, each fighter chasing his own version of a breakthrough on a night dominated by one farewell.
When the scales are packed away and the arena fills, the numbers will fade into the background. What will remain is the image of Katie Taylor, walking out at Croke Park for the last time, carrying a nation’s noise and her own dreams into one final fight.
