Luke Campbell admitted his loss to Ryan Garcia in an exciting battle of lightweight contenders was a tough one to take, but that he has never been hit as hard as he was by "The Flash" in the seventh and ultimately decisive round of their war.
Campbell was dropped by a perfect body shot from Garcia, who pinpointed the London 2012 gold medalist's liver just as he took a step back. Replays showed the extreme force of the shot, as the Brit's entire midsection reverberated.
"Cool Hand Luke" took a knee after a bit of a delay, showing just how painful the winning body blow was. Within a second of that, both of his gloves were on the canvas and it looked extremely doubtful he would answer the referee's 10-count.
He didn't, only staggering back to his feet just as the referee waved the fight off. And though the shot was no doubt hard to take — as was a third defeat in three big fights — both combatants were full of praise for each other as they embraced in the ring following the main event bout.
Indeed, Campbell can only see big things in Garcia's future, though it remains to be seen what the 33-year-old Brit's plan will be from here.
“That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with," Campbell said. "I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was moving back, and when you move back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s the exact time he hit me.”
Later, Campbell took to social media to apologise to his fans for the loss.
“I’m honestly heartbroken,” Campbell posted on Instagram. “I really wanted to bring the win back for you all. I’m sorry for that.
"I hope you all enjoyed the fight. Have to take my hat off to (Ryan Garcia), well done and a massive future ahead for him. I wish him all the best.”
When Garcia went over to Campbell's corner post-fight, he sincerely thanked Campbell for dropping him to the canvas with a beautifully-timed left, inflicting upon "King Ry" the first knockdown of his meteoric rise to the lightweight title picture.
The bout will forever be attached to Garcia's legacy — whatever that may end up being — as a vital learning curve and a real introduction to the big fights.
Campbell, meanwhile, must decide if he is content sitting on the outside of boxing's hottest weight class as a gatekeeper, if moving to a new weight class will finally help him earn that elusive world title, or if he's gone as far as he can.