But as he continues his slow yet steady climb towards the higher reaches of the heavyweight division, the 28-year-old knows it might prove to be the most important night of his life.

Life as a professional had been going according to plan for the 2014 Youth Olympic champion when an Argentinean man with a 23-11 record showed up for their eight-rounder in Kadiru’s hometown of Hamburg.

But within 56 seconds, the fight was over with southpaw Marcos Antonio Aumada running riot with an early raid.

“For me that was the toughest time of my life,” Kadiru tells The Ring. “Really, I was down at the bottom, as low as you can go.

“I just refused to answer my phone. Everyone was calling me but I’d only answer to my coach, my mother or my brother. Anyone else was no. I was so desperate.”

Boxing history is littered with hot prospects having their wings clipped by unheralded journeymen but it does not necessarily mean the end. A little over 12 years ago, an undefeated Swedish kid called Badou Jack was knocked out in 61 seconds by Derek Edwards before he went on to become a three-weight world champion.

For Kadiru, the comeback has been similarly promising. He has won eight on the bounce since that night, including six inside the distance, following a period of soul-searching and help from a sports psychologist.

“I was working with a mental coach,” he says. “It was all about working on my mental state at that point because I was really down. I had never felt that bad in my life because it was also an opponent I could beat easily.

“I was just not focused enough that night because I had other things going on. I lost that fight because I wasn’t focused but right now, with my mental state, I feel like even when the world is burning I’m still focused on my fight.

“That night was painful but it was a blessing. I really became a better boxer, more focused boxer, more confident. I became closer to God. It's all these things that came together because I only lost one fight.”

Such a learning curve will stand him in good stead for his next outing, which takes place on May 15 in Mannheim, Germany on the undercard of the event headlined by Karen Chukhadzhian’s clash with Paddy Donovan. Kadiru (22-1, 13 KOs) will face Senad Gashi (34-4, 32 KOs), another southpaw like Aumada.

Given how competitive the heavyweight division currently is, anything other than an explosive victory over the 36-year-old Kosovo-born German is unthinkable. “This is my toughest test,” he says. “But I will knock him out.”

If he does, 28-year-old Kadiru believes he will enter the next stage of his career, where he can realistically hope to face some of the division’s more established stars.

He has already mixed with many of them in sparring, while one of few men on the planet to hold a victory over Daniel Dubois with the pair locked at 1-1 following a pair of amateur encounters.

More recently, Kadiru has rubbed shoulders with many other British heavyweights during regular visits to spar two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. At one of those camps, when “AJ” was trained by Ben Davison, the Hamburg resident crossed paths with many more would-be opponents in the Harlow, Essex gym.

“There was Jeamie TKV, Fabio Wardley, Moses Itauma and obviously Joshua,” Kadiru says.

“One time I sparred Jeamie and me and Moses sparred a few times. We are cool but Moses is good, man. This guy is really, really good.”

Itauma, The Ring’s No. 6-rated heavyweight, has been touted as the next long-reigning heavyweight king which means Kadiru, who has his own designs on world domination, will likely have to go through him to achieve it.

He said: “Moses is amazing but in heavyweight boxing you only need one punch. So it's hard to tell who will be the No. 1 guy in the heavyweight division but I hope the No. 1 guy will be me.

“To do that you have to fight everyone. You have to beat everyone and so I want to beat every single guy. Right now, I get it that people say I’m not that well known so why should they risk their record against me. I get it but that’s why I’m trying to fight better guys so I can climb the ladder.

“I’ve learned my lessons in the past and now I’m ready for everything. I still carry my only loss in my heart but that means I will not let it happen again."