Given her years at the pinnacle of amateur boxing through to her punch-perfect professional career, the Bray woman might have felt like she had just about seen it all in the sport.

But Persoon transported Taylor, and in many ways women’s boxing as a whole, to somewhere else on an unforgettable night at Madison Square Garden.

Since Taylor turned professional in November 2016, she has enjoyed a reasonably serene rise to the top of the sport and you could count on one hand the number of rounds she lost in her first 13 fights in the paid ranks, which also gleaned the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

But Belgian police officer Persoon, who won her WBC title two years before Taylor even turned over, had long been earmarked as the one to give the new star of women’s boxing a real test.

Those predictions, it turned out, were on the money.

The 34-year-old from West Flanders poured forward throughout 10 relentless rounds, all-but nullifying Taylor’s technical superiority and turning this into a tear-up in Midtown Manhattan.

Persoon, in fact, nearly stopped her 32-year-old foe in a scarcely believable 10th round, which forced Taylor to hang on like she has never hung on before.

But, even though she did not force the stoppage, Persoon felt like she had done enough to win on points, as did many in attendance and thousands more watching around the world.

Indeed, there was booing when the judges’ verdict was announced.

Judge Don Trella had it 95-95 after the 10, two-minute rounds while both John Poturaj and Allen Nace had Taylor a 96-94 victory, handing Taylor the narrowest of majority decision victories.

Carl Frampton, sat ringside, labelled the decision: “a disgrace”.

Taylor, as you might imagine, saw it differently.

@KatieTaylor and Persoon, easily the best female fight I've seen and close to one of the best fights I've ever seen live. Not the right decision for me but I know Ireland's greatest ever athlete will want to settle the controversy in a rematch. What an advert for female boxing!

— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) June 2, 2019

“I knew it was close,” she said. “But I felt, as I said, that I’d done enough to win the fight. And the judges saw it that way as well.

"It was a very, very close fight. We knew it was going to be a close fight. That’s what happens when the best fight the best.

"There has to be a winner and a loser, and I definitely feel like I did enough to win the fight.”

Taylor was cut high on the forehead in the fourth round while Persoon’s all-action style, which was often delivered face-first, resulted in some severe swelling for the Belgian around the eyes.

Persoon, who enjoyed a sizeable reach advantage, swarmed over Taylor in an incredible display of stamina and the five-time amateur champion was never really able to establish a distance from which she could work

effectively.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised by anything,” she added. “Nothing surprises me in there – I was prepared for that type of fight.

"There was nothing new – I knew she was strong, I knew she was awkward, and I knew she wouldn’t stop throwing for 10 rounds. I expected that type of fight.

🗣 @KatieTaylor: "To fight for the undisputed title in a place like this is unbelievable!" 💫#TaylorPersoon starts right now! 👊 pic.twitter.com/ZJ1V2Ky5fD

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 2, 2019

“This is what I trained for over these last few months. And what a showcase for women’s boxing in there tonight.”

Indeed, for those not au fait with women’s boxing, this is a fight which will serve as a genuine watershed moment for the sport which has continued to grow ever since Taylor won gold at London 2012, when her and her peers were finally allowed to box at the Olympics.

However, there is already a clamour for a rematch with Persoon, who was incensed by the decision and returned to her dressing room in floods of tears.

“I’m happy to take the rematch if she wants it,” said Taylor, who became only the seventh boxer in history to unify all four major belts.

“We knew she was the type of fighter that she was going to be hard to look well against. I don’t think any fighter looks good against Delfine Persoon or that type of opponent.

"But the hard work paid off. I’ve got the five belts. I made history.”

Taylor’s manager Brian Peters, however, hinted that an immediate rematch may not be in the plan.

“Who knows? We’re open to anything,” he said. “There are so many different factors that have to be taken into consideration. Do you look at a rematch straight away?

"We’re going to do whatever suits us. So far on this journey we’ve done pretty well, so it’s about our plans. There are loads of opponents.

"You have Amanda Serrano, you have Mikaela Mayer, you have Heather Hardy, you have Cecilia Braekhus.”

Her next move remains to be seen but there is a feeling that women’s professional boxing, at the top level, grew in stature in that iconic old hall on Saturday night and Taylor believes she will do the same as a result of her war with Persoon.

“It’s history-making stuff,” she added. “And the great thing about it is the best is still to come. I still have so much to work on, so much to improve on. People still haven’t seen the best of me.

“I’m only getting started. The plan now is to be involved in big fights, to defend all these titles, and to stay on top for a very, very long time.

“I’m definitely not slowing down. I still have as much passion as I’ve ever had for the sport.”