As much as it pains me to say it, the only thing I could think was, “Well, that fight’s not happening.”

Maybe as boxing fans we are simply conditioned to that conclusion these days. For so many years we have watched seemingly perfect fights either marinate far too long or escape us completely.

We need only look as far as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as evidence of a sport that simply drops the ball too often. It is a fight a decade in the making, but only now, after multiple failed attempts, are we going to see it. Don’t even mention AJ against Deontay Wilder. That one still hurts too much.

But since the explosion in women’s boxing over the past decade, one thing you cannot deny is that the big fights happen. Maybe it’s the fact these women know they have no option but to take the best available fight or risk drowning in a crowded market, or maybe it’s because there are simply fewer alternatives. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

Whatever the reason, it means that, more often than not, the most obvious fights have not only happened, but happened at the right time. Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall got it on, Katie Taylor boxed Delfine Persoon when it really mattered, then had the rematch when that was called for, too.

Taylor then boxed Chantelle Cameron twice and Amanda Serrano thrice. Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner met in a unification fight the sport needed. The list goes on and on.

But on Sunday in Texas, it was hard to avoid that old sinking feeling once again. This is the fight the sport needs most, but it just feels like we won’t get it.

There have been a few worrying signs in women’s boxing of late. While it used to provide us with plenty of green shoots, there have actually been more and more red flags.

Mayer and Lauren Price seem no closer to an undisputed showdown at welterweight, while a mooted fight between Price and Claressa Shields also seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Now, what women’s boxing needs most is a clash between Dubois, who owns The Ring, WBC, WBO titles, and Baumgardner, who secured the IBF belt by shutting out previously undefeated Elif Nur Turhan on Sunday night. Of course, Dubois has to take care of business in her unification clash with WBA champion Stephanie Han on February 20, but should she come through, the Baumgardner fight simply has to be next.

These are two champions in their prime who can both talk, who can both sell a fight and, most importantly, share the sort of mutual dislike that elevates any unification fight into the sort of grudge match that transcends the sport.

Both are with Most Valuable Promotions, so there is not even the traditional roadblock getting in the way. This is simply the fight that must happen next if Dubois beats Han.

Anything else would be a damaging blow to women’s boxing and a shameful missed opportunity.

Hats off once again to promoter Johnny Clark, who has announced another stacked Top Tier show for December 6.

Clark has stealthily emerged as one of the most consistent promoters in British boxing and his Sunday night Top Tier events have become a real staple on the calendar.

However, there is every chance that his one on December 6 might just be the last that looks like this. Without a broadcast deal to help pay the bills, he will have to pare down the events and lose the streaming element altogether.

There is a hope that DAZN can provide him with a contract to ensure these events carry on beyond December 6. I think I speak for the whole of British boxing when I say it would be a travesty if he has to pull the plug.

Just before 6 p.m. on Saturday night, the one and only Vinnie Kemp (1-0, 1 KO) hit the Sky Sports stream like a runaway train.

The young middleweight had just marked his debut with a first-round stoppage in the second prelim of the Zuffa Boxing event in London and was taken ringside for a post-fight interview with Andy Clarke.

However, before a question was even asked, Kemp was off.

“Any man, any place, any time,” he barked straight down the camera. “Get someone down here, get me out next, Dana, when am I next out? I want a fight, I want a proper fight, I need a proper fight. I need to fight. Get someone, now!”

The interview with the so-called “King of Violence” went on in a similar vein for another couple of minutes before he signed off: “Get someone in the ring and I’ll show you what’s what.”

As far as post-fight interviews go, it was an instant classic of the genre. Who knows how far this 21-year-old prospect will go, but having watched that interview alone, I’m already excited to see what happens next.

And isn’t that what boxing is all about?

These men and women are attractions, first and foremost, and this sport needs characters like never before. Take a bow Kemp, the King of Violence, and now the King of the Interviews, too.