Katie Taylor’s farewell fight may have broken records for an Irish boxing occasion, and scored a TV audience to match. Official TV figures for the retirement fight in Croke Park on Saturday are expected to be close to one million. But the real figure could be three times that number, given the hordes of fans who watched in pubs, a TV source believes.
Viewing data to be published today by Tam Ireland/Nielsen is expected to show the boxing battle at GAA HQ is on course to be one of the highest TV audiences on RTÉ in recent years. Figures for online viewing via mobile devices and the RTÉ Player are also expected today.
Record-Breaking Audience
It is believed that close to two million more viewers watched her retirement bout against Flora Pili on the DAZN sports TV network, which streams globally. Some 1.59 million viewers watched last year’s Late Late Toy Show on RTÉ, and there is growing expectation that the figures for the Katie fight will come close to that number.
An RTÉ insider said yesterday: ‘The figures will be available today and they are expected to be remarkably high. They believe at this stage that almost every other house in the country, and public house, screened the fight and the feedback on the coverage has been good.
‘The growing number of Irish people and boxing fans around the world would have viewed the fight on digital devices, so they await to see how the numbers add up.’ Jill McGrath of Tam/Nielsen Ireland, which officially gauges TV audiences, said the viewing figures may be higher than the ones that are published.
Measuring Viewership
‘The sample of viewers they use is 1,050 and they are household viewers. They do not measure the number of viewers who would have watched the fight in pubs, restaurants or hotels, so the full viewing figures could be several multiples of the published ones,’ she explained. Based on that scenario, conservative estimates suggest that the full number of people who viewed the fight in Ireland could be in the region of three million.
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All statistics indicate the turnout was the largest ever in the history of female boxing. The 82,000 crowd was the sixth largest recorded post-war attendance for a boxing event anywhere in the world.
A Star-Studded Attendance
Prior to the fight, the largest recorded attendance for a female fight at this level was in May 2022 when over 19,000 people showed up at Madison Square Garden New York to witness Katie defeat Amanda Serrano. That bout was seen by over 1.5 million viewers, the highest ever TV audience for a female boxing match.
Amongst celebrities in attendance on Saturday, was golfing hero Shane Lowry who said: ‘Katie is a true inspiration for everyone in Ireland. Not just for sport, but for Irish people in general in how she’s carried herself over the years. This is the send-off that she deserves.’ Also present was Michael Flatley, a former amateur boxer himself; 1992 Olympic Gold medal winner boxer Michael Carruth; 1992 silver Olympic medalist boxer Wayne McCullough; European heptathlon champion Kate O’Connor; champion sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke, and snooker promoter Barry Hearn whose son Eddie, promoted the event.
Katie Taylor places her gloves in the middle of the ring following victory in her final fight, the Women’s IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO World Super Lightweight Titles’ fight between Katie Taylor and Flora Pili on the Katie Taylor v Flora Pili: Once Upon A Time – Fight Night at Croke Park on September 05, 2026 in Dublin, Ireland.
Among the stars were Westlife, who performed World of Our Own and You Raise Me Up. Reports suggest the match earned Katie Taylor close to €4 million.
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