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Katie Taylor ready to say goodbye to Croke Park with Flora Pili

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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.

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Boxing

Dubois vs Wardley 2: Complete Guide to Date, Time, Venue, Undercard, Weight, Records & How to Watch

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"Dubois vs Wardley 2: Complete Guide to Date, Time, Venue, Undercard, Weight, Records & How to Watch"

The heavyweight landscape could look very different by the end of the year.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in December, more than a decade after a fight between the British rivals was first discussed.

Their bout has reportedly been earmarked for a WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title, although that has proved controversial.

Gassiev remains listed by the WBA as its world champion and his team have lodged an objection to the prospect of another WBA heavyweight champion being crowned.

But it means the winner of Dubois-Wardley could enter 2027 with several lucrative options.

For Dubois, another victory would settle his rivalry with Wardley at 2-0 and give him a successful first defence of his second world title reign.

At the age of 29, wins over Joshua, Hrgovic and Wardley twice would leave Dubois with one of the strongest recent records among the division’s leading heavyweights.

Unification fights against Kabayel or Hrgovic would be obvious targets, while the winner of Fury-Joshua could provide another huge all-British option depending on how the WBA title situation develops.

For Wardley, victory would see him regain the title, avenge the only defeat of his career and put himself firmly in the conversation for unification fights.

The consequences of defeat are slightly different, though.

A second successive loss to Dubois would leave Wardley needing to rebuild before another world title opportunity.

Should Dubois lose, the rivalry would stand at 1-1 and calls for a third fight would begin almost immediately.

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Tim Tszyu Set for World Title Shot Against Boxings Oldest Champion After Victory Over Spence

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"Tim Tszyu Set for World Title Shot Against Boxing's Oldest Champion After Victory Over Spence"

Tim Tszyu is reportedly set to enter a major title fight next month, bidding to become a two-division world champion at 160lbs.

The Australian has decided to remain at middleweight following his last outing, against Errol Spence Jr, which resulted in a unanimous decision victory on home soil.

While many had anticipated a more competitive affair in July, it ended up being largely one-sided, with Tszyu winning convincingly and sending his opponent into retirement.

In doing so, the 31-year-old claimed his most significant win since 2023, when he outpointed Brian Mendoza for the WBO super-welterweight title following back-to-back stoppages of Tony Harrison and Carlos Ocampo.

Tszyu would then suffer stoppage defeats to Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora, but now looks to join the world title scene at 160lbs.

According to Fox Sportshe is expected to return in late November and face WBA champion Erislandy Lara, who has not fought since scoring two knockdowns and unanimously outpointing Johan Gonzalez last December.

Prior to that, the Cuban retained his middleweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Danny Garcia and, at the age of 43, is currently the sport’s oldest reigning world champion.

At his best, Lara is a highly-skilled southpaw with deceptive power but, due to his age and lack of activity, is rarely mentioned as one of boxing’s leading pound-for-pound operators.

Tszyu could therefore dethrone the 40-fight veteran in Australia next month, with Jermell Charlo reportedly set to feature on the undercard after having not fought since his wide points defeat to Canelo Alvarez in 2023.

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Canelo Alvarez Confirms Decision on Mbilli Fight as Security Concerns Threaten Comeback Plans

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Canelo Alvarez Confirms Decision on Mbilli Fight as Security Concerns Threaten Comeback Plans

The highly anticipated October 31 showdown between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli has faced mounting speculation in recent weeks, with growing concerns that the entire card could be pulled – or at least moved – from Saudi Arabia.

The fight marks Canelo’s return to the ring following his loss to Terence Craford last September – just his third defeat of his career.

He has landed an immediate shot at one of his old belts against Mbilli, who was elevated from interim to full champion when Crawford retired.

Set to headline the Mexico vs The World card at The Venue in Riyadh, the bout has been overshadowed in recent weeks by escalating regional hostilities, including drone strikes near the Saudi capital by Houthi rebels. Today, King Khalid airport was struck again.

The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert on October 5. The advisory cautioned American citizens to remain vigilant, immediately sparking rumours across the boxing world that the event could be abruptly relocated to Las Vegas in November.

There has been silence on the issue from the promotion, and even an official undercard announcement last week.

Today, boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh posted online to confirm that Canelo still wants the event to go ahead.

“Canelo reached out and told me he’ll still fight in Riyadh this October, no matter what happens.

“He fears nothing. My country is home to the two Holy Mosques, land of peace, safety, rich civilization, deep history, and kind-hearted people.

“Thank you to everyone who checked in and showed support. Hard times reveal true friends.”

Whether or not this encourages fans remains to be seen, with an increasing number still calling for the fight to be moved.

The decision locks in what is arguably the most crucial fight of Canelo’s recent career. After undergoing elbow surgery early this year, it is a must-win for Alvarez, who has hopes of becoming undisputed once more before retiring.

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