Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili press conference quotes and fight prediction

Katie Taylor (25-1, 6 KOs) and Flora Pili (12-0, 2 KOs) will soon clash for the undisputed super lightweight world championship.

Their bout headlines a Matchroom Boxing card at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Fight fans around the world can catch the action live on DAZN. Those in Ireland can also do so with RTÉ. Taylor’s WBO, IBF, and WBA super lightweight world titles will be on the line. The WBC belt, which had become vacant due to Sandy Ryan’s pregnancy, will also be at stake.

Taylor and Pili spoke at a final press conference ahead of their Sept. 5 contest. Below is some of what they had to say.

Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili press conference quotes

Katie Taylor

“I’m still pinching myself that this is actually happening to be honest,” said Taylor. “I’m just a few days away from making my last ring walk in Croke Park. This is an absolute dream in front of 80,000 people. It’s going to be an amazing night for Irish sport and for Irish boxing and for women’s sport in general I think. But I think we can be very, very proud of us as a nation as well. I’m not sure if there’s any other country in the world where 80,000 people would turn up for a female athlete and so I’m so, so grateful for the support.”

“I’m blown away by it to be quite honest and I want to put on a performance worthy of everyone’s support over the years. This country has travelled around the world to watch me fight. They’ve travelled to London, to Manchester, Leeds, Brooklyn, Boston, Dallas, New York, and they’re with me on Saturday night as well. And I just want to say to you all thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I’m so grateful. Thank you.”

Flora Pili

“I’m very proud to be here as well,” said Pili through an interpreter. “Thank you and welcome to everybody. Thank you for the welcome. I just want to thank my staff who have stood by me during the three months of preparation for this big fight. I think we’re all aware of the task ahead of us and we’ve got the whole of France behind us, not just the few people who’ll be in this enormous crowd, but everybody back home and on DAZN watching around the world. We’re going to be very proud to take on the worthy opponent of Katie.”

“I’ve nothing to lose and everything to win. I am the underdog for the fight. For that reason, there’s less pressure on me and for that reason I’m going to be giving it 200 per cent from round one right to the end and give everything I can and hopefully take away all these fantastic belts.”

Fight prediction

From Big Fight Weekend’s Ricky Carroll: Pili is resilient and will pick her shots with patience, but she will have to produce a career-best performance and hope Taylor’s quality has dipped. Pili shows composure in her fights, but Taylor has competed at the top throughout her amateur and professional career. Taylor tends to bring pressure in her fights, making it difficult for her opponents to keep their form.

Taylor showed in her third fight with Amanda Serrano that she can box on the back foot when needed, picking her punches. We are expecting Taylor to start fast and bring the pressure to Pili, with the Irish fighter winning by unanimous decision.

Full press conference

For the press conference in its entirety, click here or they play button below. Video courtesy of Matchroom Boxing.

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Matchroom Boxing