Although things didn't work out and Nyika was stopped in four rounds, he did have his moments in the loss.

"I only had one plan for the first round. I wanted to hit him to the body with the shot he establishes with everybody else and ran straight into a head clash and I just assumed it was a punch, so I just started punching. I got drawn into a fight which is bad practice," Nyika (12-1, 10 KOs) told The Ring.

"I was kind of banking on him dipping in the middle rounds and obviously to get to the middle rounds you have to withstand the early pressure. I took my lumps and made my bed and slept in it! No pun intended!

"It was a great opportunity and in hindsight a risk that wasn’t super necessary. We all strive to be great, it is what it is, and I live to fight another day."

The defeat led to some soul-searching and stark reality hitting Nyika.

"That air of invincibility kind of vanishes," he admitted. "Anyone who has been in the sport long enough has been humbled by it."

Since then, the 30-year-old New Zealand-born fighter has returned with two wins and will take on Floyd Masson in an IBF eliminator on Saturday at Eventfinda Stadium, North Shore, New Zealand.

"I've gone back to the drawing board and made adjustments where necessary," he said. "Fighting another southpaw, I've tailored my sparring to suit southpaws.

"He's tough, he's not going to fall over. He's worked so hard to get to where he is now. I don't believe he's just a talented fighter, I believe he's earned his stripes through blood, sweat and tears. He's taken his bumps as well. He's a world class fighter but I just believe I'm a tier above and I have the opportunity to show the world that on August 8."

If Nyika emerges victorious, he'll likely face Viddal Riley, who claimed the European title with a comprehensive 12-round unanimous decision over Mateusz Masternak earlier this year, to fill the vacancy in the fall.

"I haven't done a hell of a lot of research on Riley but everything I've seen suggested that he's not spectacular in anyway but very well-rounded and well-versed in every aspect of the sport — a guy like that is super dangerous," said the 2020 Olympian. "There's no space for making mistakes against someone like Viddal Riley.

"I'd love to come over to the UK but if we can get the fight over to New Zealand it would be outstanding. I know my team would put a big show together here but that's a long way down the line and Floyd Masson is next."