‘I’m crying’: Katie Taylor’s legendary career ends with emotional outpouring from boxing world

There will never be another Katie Taylor.

The Irish boxing icon brought her legendary career to a storybook close Saturday at Croke Park in Dublin, routing Flora Pili over 10 rounds to capture the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super lightweight titles in front of more than 83,000 of her countrymen and countrywomen inside Ireland’s national stadium. With her win, Taylor became an undisputed champion for the third time and officially closed out one of the most decorated careers in the sport’s history.

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Taylor (26-1, 6 KOs) was a class above Pili (12-1, 2 KOs) from the opening bell, cruising to a unanimous decision by scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 98-91. But the fight itself was almost secondary to the scenes that preceded it and the scenes that followed.

With a sold-out Croke Park hanging on her every word, Taylor thanked the Irish fans who followed her around the world throughout a trailblazing career that helped transform women’s boxing. The 40-year-old Olympic champion then took one final lap around the ring before laying down her gloves alongside her championship belts, as is customary in boxing.

It was an emotional scene — and some of the biggest names in the sweet science felt it too.

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Amanda Serrano, Taylor’s greatest rival and the woman who shared three historic fights with her, was among those who paid tribute as Taylor walked away from the sport. As did Jake Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions helped stage all three Taylor vs. Serrano bout, as well as pound-for-pound stars Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner.

Check out reaction to Taylor’s emotional farewell below.