In she came to the press conference room, all stealth and quiet through the darkened backdrop, stopping occasionally to take the thanks of this security guard or that member of the Croke Park staff. It was well past midnight now and Katie Taylor’s last ever fight had ended around over two hours before. But nobody was in any hurry, not her and not us. We’ll be long enough without her.We’ve seen her in these rooms before, drawn and tired, the sheen of a doctor’s work still obvious on her face, a pug’s bruise ripening on a cheekbone or over an eye. This wasn’t that. Taylor looked fresh and relaxed, as if all they’d have to do was flick the lights back on outside and she’d be well fit to glove up for another few rounds.She had the boxer’s dream ending here. On a night when one Irish fighter left the ring in a wheelchair and another was knocked through the ropes and needed oxygen, Katie Taylor got out of the game unscarred. She left boxing before boxing left her. Of all her myriad achievements, none is more important.“This was definitely the highlight of my whole career,” she said. “And that’s saying something. I didn’t think anything could get bigger than London 2012 but then MSG [Madison Square Garden] came along. I didn’t think anything could get bigger than that first fight with Serrano and here we are in Croke Park.“I’m ending my career on top, which is what every athlete wants to do. I’m ending it on my terms and I’m ending as the undisputed champion. And that’s exactly how I wanted to end it. It was so important to me all along to end my career well.”Croke Park has never seen a night like it. The love for Katie Taylor bounced off the stadium roof in a way that would be hard to fathom for any other Irish sportsperson. She was asked to explain it and initially said she couldn’t. But once she took a stab at it, like everything else on Saturday night, she just about nailed it.Fireworks are let off from the roof of Croke Park as Katie Taylor makes her ringwalk ahead of the her final bout against France's Flora Pili. Photograph: Alan Betson