Katie Taylor will retire from her professional career on September 5 in Croke Park, Dublin, with her promoter Matchroom Boxing expected to confirm the fight at a news conference at the stadium on Friday. The gala will be Taylor’s first fight at Ireland’s national stadium, which will headline her campaign from 2022.

Taylor, 39, will face Flora Pili of France for the vacant WBC super lightweight title Reported to BoxingScene. Taylor already holds the WBA, IBF and WBO 140-pound belts, so a victory would restore her undisputed status at that weight and make her a three-time undisputed champion in two divisions.

The WBC title became available after Sandy Ryan left the sport to have a child. Pili, the mandatory challenger to Taylor’s IBF title, is the top contender for the vacant belt.

Pili’s road to the headline

Pili (12-0, 2 KO) turned professional in 2019 and within three years won the French junior welterweight title. The 28-year-old from Saint-Avold added a European title in 2023 and won the IBO belt in December with a 10-round majority decision over Serbian Jelena Janicijevic. She hasn’t faced an opponent of Taylor’s stature before.

Taylor (25-1, 6 KO) won Olympic gold in London in 2012 and five amateur world titles before turning professional in 2016. She became the undisputed champion at lightweight and again at super lightweight, and last fought in July when she defeated Amanda Serrano for the third time in a trilogy at Madison Square Garden, streaming on Netflix.

First Croke Park fight since 1972

The event will be the first boxing event at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali defeated Al “Blue” Lewis in a non-title fight in 1972. The owner of the 82,000-seat stadium is the Gaelic Athletic Association, and Eddie Hearn cited the inability to reach an agreement with the GAA as the reason for the suspension of previous attempts to organize the Taylor fight there.

Speaking to RTE earlier this year, Taylor described the venue as the final ambition of her career. “Ending my career in Croke Park would be the icing on the cake. I’ve fought at Madison Square Garden. I’ve fought at the Excel Arena in London. I’ve fought all over the world. Honestly, it might even top everything if I ended my career here,” she said.

Friday’s press conference will be held in Croke Park and will be broadcast on DAZN. Ticket information and final opponent confirmation are expected to be released at the time of announcement.

Daniel Dubois did not guarantee an immediate rematch with Fabio Wardley, saying he is focused on staying vigorous and defending his WBO heavyweight title rather than waiting for one opponent.

Wardley activated his rematch clause following his 11th-round loss to Dubois in April. After the fight, the Londoner rose from being knocked down early in the fight to maintain control and gradually break down the champion under constant pressure.

While a second fight has been widely discussed, Dubois suggested nothing has been finalized yet.

“Yes, well that’s what they’re talking about, but I’m not going to wait for anyone,” Dubois said when asked about Wardley in an interview on talkSPORT. “I’m going to take care of this belt, defend it.”

The 28-year-old added that he wants to continue to build on the success he has achieved after reaching the top of the heavyweight division.

“I can’t wait to start improving, getting out there and maximizing what we’ve done since I was a kid being taken to the gym with my dad. And now here we are,” Dubois said.

Dubois won the WBO title with a dramatic knockout victory over Wardley, who entered the fight with back-to-back wins over Justis Huni and Joseph Parker. Wardley had early success and scored a knockdown, but Dubois gradually took control as the fight progressed.

Dubois’ bulky shots left Wardley with severe marks around his eyes and a bloody nose before the referee stopped the fight in the 11th round. There was then a debate on whether the fight should have been stopped early.

Frank Warren has repeatedly indicated that a rematch is the likely next step, and Wardley has already confirmed that he intends to exercise his contractual right to a second fight.

Dubois’ latest comments do not rule out this outcome. However, they explain that he does not want to postpone his career until the negotiations are completed. The heavyweight champion wants activity and is focused on defending his belt rather than waiting for a fight schedule to be set.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most critical fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.

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Last update: 2026/06/04 at 12:38

Rico Verhoeven debuted one place behind Deontay Wilder in the latest WBC heavyweight rankings following his controversial defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt.

The Dutch kickboxing superstar was ranked eighth by the World Boxing Council, one place below former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder and one place above Efe Ajagba.

Wilder is in seventh place after defeating Derek Chisora ​​in April, leaving Verhoeven directly behind one of the most recognizable names in the division.

For a fighter whose only professional boxing fight was against Usyk, this is a sure landing spot.

Rico Verhoeven’s WBC rankings

The WBC has already indicated that Verhoeven will be classified after his performance against Usyk at the Giza Pyramids.

Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that Verhoeven would be placed at heavyweight and later praised referee Mark Lyson.

The rankings now come as the WBA also placed Verhoeven fifteenth in its latest heavyweight rankings.

Verhoeven ranks behind Tyson Fury, Lawrence Okolie, Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic, Anthony Joshua, Frank Sanchez and Wilder on the latest WBC list.

Behind him are Ajagba, Richard Riakporhe, Martin Bakole, Andrii Novitskyi, Bakhodir Jalolov, Guido Vianello and Labinot Xhoxhaj.

Usyk vs. Verhoeven fight

Despite ultimately losing to Usyk on May 23, Verhoeven produced an effective, if unconventional, performance that put him ahead after ten rounds on the WBN scorecard.

If the Dutchman had survived the final round, he would have dethroned Usyk and few people would have questioned his eighth place in the ranking.

Instead, Verhoeven was stopped in the eleventh round with one second left, sparking immediate controversy over the timing of the intervention.

The WBC upheld the result and the referee. It also rewarded Verhoeven’s performance with a top-10 heavyweight finish.

Not everyone will be convinced.

However, in boxing it has happened before that fighters improved their position after a defeat. Francis Ngannou emerged from his split decision loss to Tyson Fury with more credibility than when he entered the ring.

Top ten heavyweights

Verhoeven’s ranking also continues a broader pattern, prompting further debate about how quickly the rankings can change for any given player when huge opportunities arise.

In Verhoeven’s case, the argument is easier to understand.

He pushed Usyk much closer than expected, led by ten on the WBN card and was one round away from one of the strangest heavyweight title defeats of the state-of-the-art era.

Still, try telling that to the other 32 fighters now below him on the WBC’s monthly heavyweight list.

Top 15 WBC heavyweight organizations

1. Tyson Fury
2. Lawrence area
3. Moses This is going to hurt
4. Filip Hrgovic
5. Anthony Joshua
6. Frank Sanchez
7. Deontay Wilder
8. Rico Verhoeven
9. Honor Ajagba
10. Richard Riakporhe
11. Marcin Bakole
12. Andriy Nowicki
13. Bakhodir Yalolov
14. Guido Vianello
15. Labinot Xhoxhaja

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.