RTÉ has confirmed that Katie Taylor’s fight with Flora Pili next month at Croke Park will be available to watch live free-to-air with RTÉ Sport.
RTÉ 2 has secured the rights to the fight that will see the Bray woman defend her WBO, WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles while fighting for the vacant WBC super lightweight championship in a historic clash against the undefeated French fighter.
The sold-out fight takes place at the Dublin stadium on September 5th.
The farewell fight for the boxer will also be on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with 2FM providing live radio commentary. RTÉ said full details of coverage such as the build-up, the weigh-in and press conference would be announced in the near future.
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RTÉ head of sport Declan McBennett told Morning Ireland that RTÉ had been there at the start of Taylor’s journey as an amateur and was delighted to be there for the final chapter.
“Katie is, and always will be, one of Ireland’s greatest ever sporting icons and it is fitting that she ends her illustrious career in Croke Park in front of a full stadium and a national audience.”
Taylor’s manager Brian Peters said it was “massive” and “very important” to have the fight broadcast on terrestrial television. It would be “the next best thing” for people unable to buy tickets for the fight in Croke Park.
“It’s going to be unbelievable, just historic, an Irish celebration” to have the event broadcast on Irish television, “to put an Irish slant on it” as British television stations would not “get the feeling of what Croke Park means to us Irish.”
Peters said Taylor would return to Ireland this weekend to set up training camp, with sparring partners set to arrive. The boxer is based on Connecticut and Peters said she was really looking forward to coming home.
“It’s going to be very, very special,” he said.
Taylor (39) said in June she was “so grateful” for the fight and hoped to repay some of her fans’ international support during her career “with a big performance”.
Pili is the top-ranked contender for the recently vacated WBC belt and the mandatory challenger for Taylor’s IBF light-welterweight title. Taylor is the IBF, WBA and WBO champion. She was previously WBC champion, but vacated the belt last year when she took a break from boxing.
Croke Park last hosted a professional boxing bout in 1972, when Muhammad Ali defeated Al “Blue” Lewis.
