There was always likely to be a final twist in this tale as Katie Taylor brought big time boxing back to Dublin; the dark clouds that hung over the sport for the past few years, finally shifted, revealing a packed out and raucous 3Arena on Saturday night.
The trailblazing talent that brought female boxing to the Olympic Games and then on to the iconic Madison Square Garden was back among her own people, finally granted the homecoming she deserved.
And the sense of occasion was matched by a barnstorming undercard with the hoards in early to witness what they would hope to be a historic occasion, while getting to eye some of the emerging talent on display.
No Carty, No Party, read the t-shirt slogans and the big Dublin heavyweight did not disappoint as he opened the live show with a devastating knock-out.
Classy Caoimhin Agyarko showed why he is considered a real prospect, while veteran Dennis Hogan was another who finally got to fight on home soil, having spent the majority of his career fighting all over the world, starting out in Australia and on to big world title fights in Mexico and New York City.
The shock would arrive in the penultimate fight of the night as lightweight prospect Gary Cully lost his unbeaten record in devastating style as he was caught with a huge right hand from Mexican Jose Felix.
A sobering moment throughout the arena as the Naas man was helped out of the ring, but the party atmosphere returned shortly afterwards as the main event took over.
Challenger not champion, however, opponent Chantelle Cameron was happy to play the supporting role coming into the ring first to allow Taylor to make the grand entrance.
But that was where the respect ended as Cameron raced out of the blocks and put Taylor under pressure with a barrage of shots in the early rounds.
Taylor was comfortable under pressure, while ably dishing out plenty in return, however, the first impressions were obviously giving the judges good reason to reward the champ for her front foot aggressive approach.
The fight settled a touch and while Cameron maintained the attack, Taylor appeared happy to fight on the outside and when she did get caught up against the ropes, she quickly worked her way off and back into the middle of the ring.
There was a sense that Taylor was starting to dominate midway through the fight, putting her in a good position to seal the victory in the final rounds, however, Cameron never faded and was able to match Taylor's frenetic finish with some quality explosive shots of her own.
In the end, the judges did what boxing judges tend to do and they gave the decision to the champion, because despite the fact that it was Taylor’s big bash, she did not, in their opinion, do enough to take all five belts from the undisputed champion.
There was a stunned silence inside the arena when those two words "and still" arrived to signal that Cameron was keeping her titles, and while the disappointment in the crowd was evident, the educated Dublin boxing crowd were immediately aware that the decision was not a controversial one.
And Taylor tended to agree.
"I’m not sure to be honest, I’d have to look back at the fight hit but it was obviously a close fight," said Taylor, speaking to broadcaster DAZN in the ring after the fight.
"It’s not how I wanted my homecoming to go but I am just so grateful for all the support.
"Congratulations to Chantelle it was a fantastic performance, thanks for the opportunity to fight for your belts.
"I guess I just came up short tonight."
Taylor put on a brave face for the obligatory post fight appraisal with the host broadcaster, however, her no show at the post-fight press conference spoke volumes about the devastation that she must be feeling after losing for the first time as a professional and more importantly the first time on home soil.
But at least Taylor’s fans and indeed the boxing world can be thankful that there was no talk of retirement after the fight, while she can also take solace with the fact that despite the loss, she remains the undisputed lightweight champion.
And Taylor is already eyeing a re-match with Cameron, which may put talk of a rerun with Amanda Serrano on hold as the revenge bout with the Liverpudlian is now the most attractive fight in female boxing.
"I wouldn’t say I was surprised how fast she was. I expected everything that came my way," said Taylor, when asked about Cameron’s performance.
"It was a tough gruelling ten rounds, as I expected it to be, but I look forward to the next time that we face each other.
"I’m looking forward to the rematch."
And Cameron appears very open to the re-match, as she spoke in the pre-match press conference, although she added that she would expect that it would be more on her terms, following the victory.
"I was petrified. I’ve seen results go the other way in the past," said Cameron. "It was a close fight and Katie is a great boxer, pound-for-pound the best.
"My strength is putting the pressure on. I don’t mind getting hit so my corner let me off the leash.
"She’s so fast and tough. She’s one of the greatest boxers there is."
