Two redoubtable boxers, the phenomenal Irish woman, Katie Taylor and Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano, both in their mid thirties, provided a truly memorable scrap which one male pundit declared was the greatest ever seen at boxing’s Mecca. 

Personally I thought that was a tad over the top. Ali-Frazier is surely among a fistful of classic encounters which saw greater skill.

Olympic gold medallist Taylor and the challenger for her world lightweight title did fight one of the best battles seen at the Garden, a bout of remarkable intensity which Taylor, I thought, was lucky to win on a split decision.

Thrilling as it was, they boxed 10 two minute rounds and not the traditional 12 - it was once 15 - of male attrition.

Significantly, however it was certainly one giant step for sport’s womankind.

However it was an indication of just how much progress women have made in international sport, not just boxing. And not just in competition, either. 

Television viewers around the world will have noticed the preponderance of female sportscasters (and newscasters), as well as commentators in almost every major sport. The vast majority are excellent, thorough professionals who know their business.

A Sky executive once told me he received upwards of a dozen applications a day from young women wanting to be sportscasters.

In the days of "women’s lib" the iconic phrase was "you’ve come a long way baby." Well, Saturday's pair of "million-dollar babes" most certainly have, as have most women in sport these days.

The glass ceiling is in the process of being shattered, if that hasn’t happened already. At last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo quite a number of major nations, including Britain, has more women than men in their teams.

And not just sport. I am in awe of the number of intrepid, female journalists who daily are providing such brilliant despatches from the horrific events in Ukraine. Being a war correspondent was once virtually an exclusive domain for men. Not any more.

Oh, and by the way women’s football is now the fastest growing sport in the UK. Crowds are showing a marked increase at the professional game, which is reflected in the advance ticket sales, for the upcoming UEFA Women's Euro 2022, to be held here in July.

Of course some feminists will argue that women have not come far enough and that there is still some way to go. Yet it was interesting to hear England’s first black female cricketer, the talented and glamorous Ebony Rainford-Brent say after receiving her MBE from Prince Charles this week that "women’s sport is at the highest it has ever been."

The 38-year-old former World Cup winner, now a successful BBC and Sky commentator and chief executive of Surrey County Cricket Club, played 29 times for England between 2001 and 2010. She praised the progress of women’s sport while calling for more to be done to "close the gender gap."

Rainford-Brent was also recognised for her charity work, having set up a "programme to encourage more black teenagers of both sexes to play cricket."

"I was honoured to be the first black woman to play for England but I always wanted to make sure [others] had that chance," she said.

She has also spoken about the racism she has encountered, something which is bedevilling the county game at the moment.

It’s been a long, long journey. She says women’s sport maybe on a high, yet the spectre of racism prevails. But that’s another story.