Seconds out, round four. Anthony Joshua did not get his heavyweight re-match against Wladmir Klitschko, but there is no keeping apart Arsenal and Chelsea.
They meet for the fourth time since February 4 in Sunday’s Community Shield match, with round five, the Premier League meeting on September 17 - five fixtures into the campaign - already rumbling towards us.
There’s no such thing as a friendly between these sides, according to Arsene Wenger’s comments before his team were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea in Beijing on July 22.
That means this weekend’s curtain-raiser at Wembley will be legitimately analysed for pointers towards the coming season rather than treated as a ceremonial showpiece as it used to be - Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan’s famous shirt-flinging square-up in 1974 excepted.
There is already a contrast between the off-field affairs of the two clubs as they prepare to return to action in England.
Wenger appears to be playing the 'Good Cop' role in his conciliatory attempts to placate the unsettled Alexis Sanchez, although the bottom line is that the manager is adamant the Chilean is heading nowhere.
In Pictures | Alexis Sanchez returns to Arsenal training | 01/08/2017
Conte, on the other hand, simply informed Diego Costa that he was surplus to requirements by text message and there has been no softening of attitude. And once it became clear that Nemanja Matic would be departing for Manchester United he was, quite correctly, placed on the sidelines during pre-season.
This offers an intriguing snapshot of the differing styles of the two coaches, and of the difference in attitude of the two clubs. It’s hardly a secret, after all, that Chelsea have, shall we say, a more ruthless outlook.
Yet it was Arsenal who displayed more hard-headedness and purpose in the most significant of the collisions between the sides so far this year, the FA Cup final in May.
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That was a backs-to-the wall moments for the club and the team - with Wenger’s future then shrouded in uncertainty - and they responded magnificently to win 2-1 to deny Chelsea the Double.
It’s that same impressive spirit and mentality which will be required on Sunday - along with the recognition by Arsenal that they are, once again, the underdogs who can lay down a marker for the coming months.
Put simply, it is Chelsea who will be playing in the Champions League next season and Arsenal who will not for the first time in 21 years.
That alone offers Wenger’s team the opportunity to issue a reminder that their status and capability is, in fact, undiminished despite their demotion to the Europa League.
Conte had the advantage in his first title-winning season of a campaign free of any European competition, and it undoubtedly helped.
Wenger, having signed a new two-year contract and bought striker Alexandre Lacazette for £52million, has to mount a renewed title challenge while dealing with the complications of Thursday night football in Europe.
It will require a tough, relentless outlook which has often been missing from Gunners’ line-ups in recent seasons - but which they summoned up brilliantly at Wembley in May.
It makes the Community Shield match a perfect opportunity to show that the spirit which won the FA Cup remains - because, in a title battle which has been cranked up yet again by ferocious transfer spending in Manchester, sheer bloody-mindedness and stamina of thought are going to be priceless qualities.
In Pictures | Arsenal vs Chelsea, FA Cup Final | 27/05/2017
If you need a pointer to what kind of campaign it will be, it lies in Jose Mourinho’s purchase of Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic for Manchester United.
Both are intensely physical players and they will be working in tandem with Paul Pogba, another immensely powerful player. This is what Arsenal and Chelsea are going to have to cope with from these particular rivals next season. With Mourinho in charge at Old Trafford, it won’t be for the faint-hearted.
Arsenal’s spending so far hasn’t been as expansive as some imagined it would be. But let’s face it - a squad with Lacazette added to Sanchez, Mezut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny,Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck ought to be competitive if their mentality is right.
Chelsea looked oddly muted in that Cup Final defeat by Arsenal, especially as the Double was on offer.
During pre-season, there have been echoes of the managerial disgruntlement displayed by Mourinho in the build-up to the 2015-16 season, when he was sacked by December.
The 3-0 defeat of Arsenal in China last month was comprehensive, but Conte does not appear entirely happy in his work just now.
That makes Sunday’s game an early test of Chelsea’s mood, too.
Both league meetings between the clubs last season were pivotal.
When Arsenal won 3-0 at the Emirates last September, Chelsea slumped to eighth place, eight points behind leaders Manchester City.
It convinced Conte to switch to the back-three system which turned the tide of the campaign.
When Chelsea then won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in February, Eden Hazard scored a superb solo goal which typified his team’s expanding confidence - and Arsenal were written off as also-rans.
The FA Cup victory in May restored Arsenal’s pride. Now we await round four of this year’s entanglement.
One thing seems sure - it won’t be a lightweight occasion.