Boxing essentially left Kenneth Sims Jr. for dead just under a decade ago.

From mid-2017 to late 2018, he went 1-2-1. Most, if not all, believed he would go on to become a journeyman. Sims, however, never subscribed to that theory. He picked himself off the mat, he racked up nine consecutive wins. His reward for that streak? A date with Oscar Duarte.

The two officially got it on last weekend at University of Illinois' Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Sims’ hometown. Yet, despite having the crowd behind him, there was no hometown cooking as the 31-year-old lost a close majority decision.

Sims (22-3-1, 8 KOs) screwed up his face when the scorecards were announced. Was it a close and competitive fight? No argument from Sims on that one. But does he believe he did just enough to earn the victory? He sure does.

“I thought I won,” Sims told Chris Mannix on DAZN following his defeat. “I boxed him. He caught me some, but every time he caught me, I came back. I thought I won the fight.”

The 140-pound division is a gold mine. Champions Teofimo Lopez, Subriel Matias, Gary Antuanne Russell and Richardson Hitchins have made it their home. There are also countless contenders.

For Sims, losing places him at the back of the line. He isn’t scared of the grind or rebuilding himself. He’s done it before and believes he can do it again.

Although he knows the ball isn’t exactly in his court, he’s hoping that those ambiguous scorecards will get under Duarte’s skin and entice him to meet him again.

“I wanna run it back.”