Katie Taylor prepares for emotional Croke Park farewell against Flora Pili

Katie Taylor smiles as she sits down for her fight-week media commitments, but her eyes give her away.

On Saturday, she faces unbeaten Frenchwoman Flora Pili at Croke Park, bringing down the curtain on a career that has gone from disguising herself as a boy in a sport that barred women, to Olympic gold and undisputed titles.

The weight of a lifetime in the ring is catching up with an Irish icon preparing to step away.

"I thought I was handling all the emotions until today," the 40-year-old tells BBC Sport.

Taylor's usual defensive armour is slipping as the reality of a Croke Park farewell sets in. There is no next opponent waiting in the shadows, only 80,000 roaring voices, a sea of green, white and orange tricolours and the final chapter of a transcendent career.

"This is the stuff of dreams and I'm pinching myself that it's happening," Taylor adds.

"I look back at my career and think how remarkable it has been. The highs, the lows, the failures, the disappointments and the successes."

Taylor has never hidden her disdain for the circus of fight-week theatre, preferring the sanctuary of the gym.

But this week she has welled up under the glare of the cameras and stayed a fraction longer during face-offs to absorb the magnitude of the moment.

"Every fighter in the world wishes they were in this position," she says.

"I'm just blown away from the support from this country. I don't think there are many other countries where 80,000 show up for a female athlete.

"The crowd - hearing 'ole ole ole' one last time - feeling the atmosphere, seeing the tricolours all over the place..."

The emotion has rippled through her inner circle. Eddie Hearn choked up mid-sentence during the final news conference when it dawned on him this was the last time he would experience a Taylor fight week.

"When it's all said and done you will look at your belts, you might look at your bank balance. But you will sit there, close your eyes and recall all those incredible moments in your life that made you cry," he later told BBC Sport.

"I will cry on the ring walk. I will cry in the [post-fight] interview."

Taylor is softly spoken and laser-focused, but this week has unlocked a relaxed side of her rarely seen by the public. She joked during final media commitments about flipping the table just to disrupt the monotony.

"Katie Taylor is one of the funniest people I've met. Unexpectedly funny. She's so strong and determined. But people who know, she's very jovial, she's got great energy and I think she's soaking all that up," Hearn adds.

All week, her nearest and dearest have insisted she is Ireland's greatest ever sportsperson. Manager Brian Peters jokingly issued an apology to Roy Keane, reassuring him he was a close second.

From taxi drivers gridlocked in traffic to those pulling pints in Temple Bar, everyone across the capital is frantically seeking spare tickets.

But even with Taylor's popularity, selling out Croke Park is no easy feat. While she has a reputation for being fiercely zoned into her training rather than chasing the spotlight, she has put work into the promotion. And perhaps even enjoyed it.

Peters spearheaded an exhausting, 1,500-mile island-wide bus tour spanning all 32 counties, completing dozens of radio chats and community stops to promote the swansong.

"No-one works as hard as Katie," Peters says. "Those four days she did not stop working. These stadiums don't sell out on their own."

When thousands mobbed the gates at a Kilkenny stop on an unforgiving timetable, Taylor refused to turn a blind eye. "Ah Brian, we can't drive past them," Peters recalls Taylor insisting, pulling the vehicle over to take group photos.

That effort has helped turn Saturday into something bigger than a boxing event. About 80% of those inside Croke Park will be attending a live fight for the first time, while 65% of tickets were sold outside Dublin.

With the bout also being shown on free-to-air TV across Ireland, Taylor's farewell - which will include music from one of the nation's biggest pop groups, Westlife - has become a national celebration.

Pili has spent the week quietly slipping through corridors while the media storm swirls around Taylor.

The undefeated challenger arrives with a 12-0 record and a hunger to create her own story.

"I have nothing to lose and everything to win," Pili, 29, said.

But with fight-week media commitments cleverly packed into the start of the week, Taylor has been given the space to get the tears and emotion out of her system.

"I don't think I can prepare for what happens on Saturday, but I'm going to try and keep emotions in check and try and enjoy the ringwalk. But the most important thing is to win," she says.

Asked how she will feel when the dust settles on Sunday morning, Taylor says: "Probably a bit relieved - I don't have to take any more punches again."

The tears may come again at the end of Saturday night. This time, though, the final bell really will mean the end.