Anthony Joshua fought gallantly, but came up short as he dropped a split decision to IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah.
More than two and a half years after avenging his first career defeat when he outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia, Joshua (24-3) was unable to make lightning strike twice against the masterful Usyk.
Afterwards, a battered and clearly devastated Joshua spoke and behaved erratically in the ring, taking some of the plaudits away from his display over the 12 rounds, where Usyk was awarded verdicts of 116-112 and 115-113 set against a more hard-to-explain 115-113 for the challenger.
One thing we could glean from the aftermath is Joshua does not look like a man ready to walk away, despite his financial security. But what's next?
What's next for Anthony Joshua after losing to Oleksandr Usyk?
Joshua's resume since turning professional is arguably deeper than any elite heavyweight, something that is often obscured by the two fights that got away. Any meeting with the seemingly Usyk-bound Tyson Fury might be gone for good and it remains a huge frustration that he and Deontay Wilder never fought when the American knockout artist was an unbeaten WBC champion.
Nevertheless, as Wilder reportedly prepares for an October comeback against Robert Helenius after his sapping trilogy with Fury, much of the old allure remains.
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"I believe that fight is enormous, even if he loses to Usyk," Wilder's promoter Shelly Finkel said recently regarding the prospects of his man meeting Joshua.
A less-glamorous encounter against someone ranked in the top 15 but relatively low-risk, such as Otto Wallin, could be next on the agenda if Joshua returns before the year is out. If he can get back to winning ways, he is fortunate that his career has a few more intriguing narrative threads that fans would like to see tied up, with or without belts.
Dillian Whyte has taken significant strides since losing a seven-round thriller to Joshua back in December 2015, where he was the first man to hint at his domestic rival's future frailties by shaking him in the second.
Animosity remains between the pair and, even though there would be a sense of damaged goods, given Whyte's comprehensive loss to Fury at Wembley, it remains a fight that could fill a stadium in their homeland, especially as both would be in the last-chance saloon in terms of trying to propel themselves back into world-title contention.
In an interview with iD Boxing ahead of his September return against Luis Ortiz, Andy Ruiz was keen to remind Joshua that their overall ledger is one apiece.
"Of course, that's something we should have done. Once he beat me over there, there should have been a trilogy," he said.
"I should have had one more opportunity to get back those belts, just like we gave him the opportunity in the rematch. There has to be a trilogy, if he loses or he wins and, if I lose or I win, someway, somehow."
Seeing Joshua rebuild from the Usyk setbacks against the only other man to have beaten him would be intriguing.
A stacked U.K. heavyweight scene means there will always be a queue of fighters at least claiming they want a piece of Joshua. Whyte is reportedly in negotiations to face Daniel Dubois for the WBA 'regular' title.
A meeting between Joshua and Dubois, two big-punching but vulnerable heavyweights, would hold obvious appeal and also give AJ a swift route back into the world-title picture in the form of a secondary belt.
The winner of September's meeting between Dubois's old rival Joe Joyce and former Joshua foe Joseph Parker might also be keen for a shot at the fallen former champion.
