Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili Preview September 5th, 2026
Katie Taylor of Ireland, the WBA/IBF/WBO Super Lightweight Champion, will be facing unbeaten IBO Beltholder Flora Pili of France this Saturday, September 5th with the vacant WBC Belt also on the line. The 10-rounder from Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Taylor last fought in July, 2025 in her trilogy match against Amanda Serrano and beat her by a 10-round majority decision. The two first met in 2022 with Taylor winning a hotly-disputed split decision to retain her IBF, WBC and WBO Lightweight Titles. She then captured the Undisputed Super Lightweight Titles in 2023 by edging Chantelle Cameron of England via a majority decision after dropping a majority decision to Cameron six months earlier in her only pro defeat. Serrano and Taylor then met in a rematch with Taylor once again winning a highly-controversial decision. This time it was a unanimous nod with scores of 95-94 across the board despite being deducted a point for headbutting in the eighth round. Pili last saw action in December when she edged Jelena Janicijevic by 10-round majority decision to take the vacant IBO Crown.
Taylor vs Pili Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Flora Pili +1100
- Katie Taylor -2500
My Pick
The 40-year-old Taylor enters the ring with an impressive record of 25-1 with 6 Ko’s. She has boxed 224 rounds since making her pro debut in 2016 following a wonderful amateur career. She won a gold medal at the 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 AIBA World Boxing Championships and also captured a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. She returned to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and lost in her first bout after receiving a bye in the first round of action.
Taylor is quite a celebrity in her homeland as she was honoured with the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Female Boxer of the Year Award in 2010, the People of the Year Awards – Sportsperson of the Year and the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year in 2012 as well as the Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year for 2014. Taylor has exceptional boxing skills but not much in the way of power as just 24 per cent of her wins have come by stoppage. The last time she halted an opponent was in 2019 when she beat Rose Volante in the ninth round and she’s gone the distance in her last 13 outings.
Taylor measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach and won her first professional world title in 2017. She’s beaten some of the top female boxers over the years with wins over Serrano, Cameron, Anahi Esther Sanchez, Jessica McCaskill, Jennifer Han, Victoria Noelia Bustos, Cindy Serrano, Natasha Jonas, Eva Wahlstrom, Rose Volante, Delfine Persoon, and Christina Linardatou. Taylor has weighed between 132.5 lbs and 139.5 lbs as a pro and also captured the WBO World Female Super Lightweight Title along the way when she beat Christine Linardatou by unanimous decision in 2019.
Flora Pili is 29 years of age and owns a perfect record of 12-0 with 2 Ko’s. She has 89 rounds of pro experience under her belt since making her debut in 2019 and is trained by her father Pietro Pili. She has held the French, European, WBO International, IBO International and IBO Super Lightweight Belts so far as a pro. She beat Silvia Bortot for the European Crown in 2023 and in 2024 she beat Diana Rodriguez for the vacant WBO International Belt. Pili defended the WBO International Crown by halting Ana Maria Lozano in the 10th and final round in 2025
Pili also enjoyed a fine amateur career as she captured French Youth and Senior National Belts in 2015 and 2019 and also fought internationally. She reportedly stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68-inch reach for a two-inch edge on Taylor in both departments. She also lacks power however as just two of her wins have come by stoppage for a current knockout ratio of 16 .7 per cent.Pili’s first six pro opponents entered the ring with a losing record while the last six opponents had a winning mark.
Prediction…
With the rounds being just two minutes long it’s sometimes hard to separate female boxers and that results in close and/or controversial decisions. This is supposed to be Taylor’s swansong and she’ll be fighting in front of 80,000 fans at home. However she’s 40 years old and lacks power. She can’t afford to take Pili lightly as she’s 11 years her junior and an undefeated champion even though she lacks experience. Taylor arguably has the better overall boxing skills and unless she’s completely outboxed here or floored, I don’t see how she can lose.
Taylor’s experience and skills should do the trick.
Play: Taylor -2500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Flora Pili betting • Katie Taylor betting