Promoter Eddie Hearn confessed to being overwhelmed with emotion, even shedding "floods of tears," while viewing the promotional video for Katie Taylor's upcoming retirement fight. He anticipates Taylor's final ring walk at Dublin's Croke Park on Saturday night could become "one of the greatest moments sport has ever seen."
Taylor is set to conclude her illustrious career in her 27th professional bout against the undefeated French boxer Flora Pili. The fight, expected to draw an audience of 80,000, will also see the vacant WBC title contested alongside Taylor's WBO, WBA, and IBF belts, potentially making her a three-time undisputed world champion.
"I've got my daughter with me, and we came through the airport, and it's like every other person knows about Saturday," Hearn said. "Everyone knows about Saturday. It sounds like everyone's going. So I just can't wait. I just can't wait to feel it, and it'll be unbelievably emotional."
Hearn acknowledged his deep emotional response, stating, "When I say I cried, I am not exaggerating. This is a bit embarrassing but I bawled my eyes out. Not like, 'Oh, a tear came out', literally floods of tears."
He further elaborated on his prediction for the event's significance: "I can't stop thinking about the ring walk. I truly believe it will be one of the greatest moments sport has ever seen. Yes, it's going to be one of the biggest events Irish sport has ever seen, one of the biggest female boxing events ever seen, but honestly I think it could be the biggest sporting event of all time. It's going to be one of those events where everyone's going to go, 'Wow. I can't believe it's happening.'"
Reflecting on the journey to staging the fight at Croke Park, Hearn admitted to past doubts about whether Taylor would ever have the opportunity to fight at her dream venue. He expressed disappointment in himself for allowing these doubts to surface, particularly after previous attempts to secure the location had not materialized.
"I'm disappointed in myself, actually, that I allowed that to happen, because maybe we could have done it earlier," Hearn said. "But I probably didn't have the confidence that I had going into it this time, with Peter, with the Serrano three-fight deal and all that."
He recalled initial hesitations about the venue's commitment: "If Croke Park had originally gone, 'Yes, this is going to be massive,' I would have gone, 'Wow you're right' and we would have done it. But I was like, 'I don't know' and I was thinking blimey, if they're not sure, do we really want to be gambling with these costs?"
However, Hearn praised the eventual cooperation: "But, they listened, they helped out as well. They were fantastic in the end. Saying all of that though, I never thought we'd do 40,000 on a pre-sale. It's honestly blown my mind how passionate the fans are for Katie and how much they support her and show up for her."
The overwhelming fan demand has led Hearn to contemplate the potential capacity if more tickets were available. "We're getting hundreds of messages every day from people saying, 'Please, I want to bring my daughter. It's heartbreaking in a way because we'd love for everyone to get a ticket and be there to watch it live but that's just the way it is."
Hearn expressed satisfaction with DAZN's broadcast of the fight and commended the decision to allow Irish broadcaster RTE to also show the event. "I'm so happy that DAZN are broadcasting the fight. But I think the RTE thing is incredible as well. I was shocked, but very grateful that DAZN allowed that to happen because I think it's very important for Ireland."
While Taylor's Olympic gold medal from London 2012 remains a significant achievement, Hearn believes her professional career will define her legacy for future generations. He highlighted her accomplishments, including headlining at Madison Square Garden, fighting on Netflix, and defeating top opponents.
"She won that gold medal, but I think when you look back on everything that she's done, from starting out fighting on the AJ cards to headlining MSG, fighting on Netflix, you know, and she's beaten everybody," Hearn stated. He specifically noted Taylor's rematch victory over Chantelle Cameron as particularly underrated, considering Taylor's age at the time. "These are girls that are eight, 10, 12, 16. They weren't even born when she won the Olympics. So I think what she's done in the pro ranks will be remembered forever. Honestly, it's just everything that she's done across the board. We are so lucky to have had a fighter like her."
Hearn also credited Taylor with fundamentally transforming women's boxing, stating, "She changed women's boxing forever. Whether I did it or not, she was going to convince probably someone to do it, right?"
He recalled the vastly different landscape of women's professional boxing when Taylor turned professional, where world titles could be contested in as few as a second or third fight, a stark contrast to the current competitive environment.
Beyond titles and accolades, Hearn emphasized Taylor's earned respect within the sport. "There isn't one female fighter you could find that wouldn't go, 'She's incredible.' She's just so loved. And there's no airs or graces. She's not there for the fame. She's not there for the money. It's just pure - purely a faith, the love of the sport, and trying to set an example."
Despite the emotional build-up, Hearn stressed the need for Taylor to remain focused on her opponent, Flora Pili. Pili, with a record of 12-0, is younger and strong, posing a challenge even without Taylor's extensive experience and pedigree.
"You know, today really the switch has got to focus on the fight because this girl's decent. She's big. She's 12-0. I'm not saying she's got the pedigree of Katie Taylor, but Katie's 40 years old, right? She's fighting a young, strong girl who likes to trade. And so does Katie."
Hearn also confirmed that the undercard has been curated to complement the significance of the Croke Park event, featuring musical performances and several notable fights leading up to Taylor's final walk to the ring. "I'm not going to give too much away… I want you all to see it unfold on the night. But there's definitely people everybody's heard of in this country who are going to be performing on Saturday night, and a number of different things going on during the night."