Katie Taylor crafts her perfect ending: "This was definitely the highlight of my whole career"

The Bray boxer reflected on her three decades in the ring, and gave a glimpse into what might be next after seeing off Flora Pili in her last ever fight

Katie Taylor celebrates after the victory in her final professional bout before retirement at Croke Park.

Katie Taylor had done it all before her big Saturday night in Croke Park.

She had pushed open the door for women’s boxing in the Olympics and then conquered the London Games. She had barged her way in on another boys' club on turning pro, her bouts at some of the world’s biggest venues creating headlines and history.

She had 35 belts to her name, amateur and pro, before this finale in Ireland’s capital city, a lifetime of memories created for herself and any one of which would be cherished into eternity by most of us mere mortals.

But all of that faded into second place compared to this last dance.

“This was definitely the highlight of my whole career,” she said in the early hours of Sunday morning. “I didn't think anything could get bigger than London 2012, but then MSG [Madison Square Garden] came along and I didn't think anything could get bigger than that first fight with [Amanda] Serrano.

“And here we are in Croke Park. This is definitely the highlight of my whole career and I'm ending my career on top, which is what every athlete wants to do. I'm ending it on my terms and I'm ending as the undisputed champion. And that's exactly how I wanted to end it. It was so important to me all along to end my career well. And so, yeah, here we are.” The night, she said, was everything she expected. Emotions bubbled to the surface times during the week leading in to the bout when she showed herself to be more open than normal in answering questions about the bigger picture stuff.

Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Shane Filan with Katie Taylor in the dressing room after her win in Croke Park. Pic: INPHO/Gary Carr

The nerves on the night, as she prepared for that memorable last ringwalk, were described as a privilege. The weight of the nation rested on her shoulders and her legs were shaking and she opened herself to all that.

She went out in a blaze of glory when, with the win already secured through the first nine rounds and most of the tenth, she unleashed a blur of rights and lefts at Flora Pili as the last moments of her 30-year long story in the ring came to an end.

“I was trying to just put the pressure on in the last round where I couldn't really get closer, because I chose a very awkward opponent, actually. The last 10 seconds before the bell rang, I said, why not? I'm just gonna swing. I tried to punch it on for the last 10 seconds of my life in the ring. What an amazing moment.

“But I'm just looking back at the whole 28 years or 30 years in the ring, the first time I stepped into a boxing club to here tonight, it's been absolutely amazing. I just wanted to leave it all in the ring. And I certainly have no regrets looking back on my whole career. And that's an amazing thing to be able to say, is I have zero regrets looking back on all this.” 

And now to the future.

The only immediate plan was to relax and celebrate it all with her family. There’s a thought that this end point to her life as an athlete might allow a bit more spontaneity in her life. Maybe a holiday or two at short notice.

Brian Peters, her promoter spoke about plans for a nationwide tour involving Taylor, theatre and Steve Bunce. Someone asked who might play her in the inevitable Hollywood movie and Saoirse Ronan was the first name to spring to mind.

“She’ll have to start working on her neck though. She has a bit of a skinny neck. I have a big fat neck.” Beyond that? They do say life only starts at 40 but it will be intriguing to see if she will maintain her strong link with boxing. She certainly intimated as much, though there might be some complications to being involved in the Irish side of the game.

“I’d love to stay in boxing so maybe. I’m living in Connecticut at the moment as well so I don’t know how that [Irish aspect] would work. I'm trying to convince my husband to move back home to Ireland with me but I'm not sure that's gone down very well,” she laughed.

“But yeah, we'll see what happens. I would love to stay involved in sport. I think it'd be very strange not to be involved since this has been my whole life for the last 30 years. So we'll see what happens.”