A FAREWELL FIT FOR A QUEEN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, but this isn’t just “good”; it is something special. Something that the world of boxing has never witnessed in its 5,000+ years of existence.

This Saturday night, a trailblazer bows out of the sport in the most spectacular setting imaginable, as Katie Taylor brings an end to her illustrious 28-year career as a boxer in front of a sold-out crowd, just an hour down the road from where she was born and raised, at Croke Park in Dublin.

It won’t be any normal last fight for a professional fighter, and rightly so, because Katie Taylor isn’t just any normal fighter.

After taking up boxing at the age of just 12, she pretended to be a boy and went by the name “K” just so she could box. Little did she know at the time that, in the years to come, she would pave the way for a generation of young women and become a trailblazer for women’s boxing.

An Olympic gold medallist, a five-time World Championships gold medallist, a six-time European Championships gold medallist as an amateur, and then a 10-belt world champion as a professional, including becoming undisputed in two weight classes, this is a fighter of a generation.

Oh, and not to forget the 11 caps as a professional footballer for the Republic of Ireland.

She’s not just one of the greatest boxers of all time; she’s one of the greatest athletes of all time.

This Saturday night, she aims to bow out in the most perfect way possible as she takes on the relatively unknown Flora Pili for the Undisputed Super-Lightweight Championship.

At 12-0, she’s worked her way into position to challenge for the undisputed championship and, seemingly, she’s the perfect dance partner for Katie’s farewell.

She doesn’t possess dangerous power, but she knows her way around a boxing ring. You don’t get to 12-0 and get into position to challenge one of, if not THE greatest female boxer of all time by being no good.

Is she the best fighter Katie has ever fought? No. However, despite this being Katie’s night, Pili has the opportunity to change her life and her family’s lives forever.

A dangerous fighter is a fighter with nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what Pili is this weekend.

Katie should win, and it should be the farewell of all farewells, but do not be surprised if Pili puts up a better fight than many people are expecting this Saturday night.

On the undercard, there are some cracking match-ups.

IBF welterweight mandatory Paddy Donovan puts his mandatory status on the line against the always-game Tyrone McKenna.

Five of his last seven fights have ended in a stoppage, and despite three of those ending in defeat for McKenna, they’ve certainly been box-office worthy.

Donovan comes into the fight off the back of arguably the best victory of his career after he bounced back from back-to-back defeats with an exquisite show of boxing skill and class to outpoint Karen Chukhadzhian on away soil.

He’s gone two and a half years without a stoppage victory, and with another world title shot potentially looming, he’ll no doubt see McKenna as the perfect victim for him to get back to his devastating and spiteful ways.

The fight may heavily favour Donovan on paper, and understandably so, but one thing we do know is that someone is getting chinned.

In a heavyweight BANGER, everyone’s favourite White Rhino, Dave Allen, takes on the exciting Irishman Thomas Carty.

Expect Allen to do what he does best and bring the fire from the first bell. It’ll be interesting to see whether Carty decides to go toe-to-toe with him or looks to outbox him.

The fight is over 10 rounds, and that’ll most certainly favour Allen, considering he’s fought 10 rounds or more on six occasions compared to Carty, who has never boxed for longer than eight rounds in a single fight, and he’s only done that once.

It’ll be an interesting watch, with a potential big fight in line for the winner.

Two other fights worth watching out for are two contests between four unbeaten fighters, as the hard-hitting Taylor Bevan takes on Emmet Brennan on away soil, while Joe McGrail faces off with Matthew Boreland.

Four undefeated records are on the line in two fights; either of them could quite easily steal the show on what will be an emotional night for Irish boxing.