Renowned boxing author Thomas Hauser said Anthony Joshua could have walked down an American street without being recognised prior to his US debut against underdog Andy Ruiz Jr.
On Sunday, that may no longer be the case.
His stunning defeat – where time appeared to freeze for the Briton at Madison Square Garden – will be played on loop by sports broadcasters here and at home for the next 24 hours and beyond.
Joshua’s team sat slumped, dejected, almost lifeless, as he fielded questions in the bowels of the arena after a stunning result that few saw coming.
Their man had lost his titles. More so, he had lost his “invincibility” according to former world heavyweight champion Davie Haye.
So will this be a time for change for Joshua?
And could Ruiz – who believed he was destined for life as a no-good gangster – now become the division’s “golden goose”?
During fight week, Joshua told Carl Frampton that after beating Wladimir Klitschko in a topsy-turvy 2017 bout, he had informed trainer Rob McCracken he would “give up” if he needed to be in fights which played out like a rollercoaster again.
Not only has he now had such a contest, but he has had one which will rear its head decades from now whenever boxing shocks or wider sporting upsets are discussed.
There can either be a view that this was unfortunate and team Joshua hold firm, or, more likely, there will be change.
“This is the biggest shock I have ever seen in my whole days in boxing,” Frampton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“There are big questions about AJ’s engine now. It will be interesting to see if there any changes made to his team because it is something that would not surprise me.”
Before the seventh and final round, Joshua looked perplexed in his corner and simply said to McCracken: “Why am I feeling like this?”
The 29-year-old had been adamant this fight’s training camp was the one where 10 years in the sport had all come together.
He said lessons were learned from being unwell in the run-up to his last victory and an emphasis had been placed on quality over quantity. His training regime even included work with Navy Seals, who told him how they dealt with being shot in the hope it would help him stay calm if
knocked down.
And knocked down he was, four times in all. Those ringside could see all was not well from an early stage as fatigue shone through.
“If Anthony Joshua is healthy and fit as he says he is, then there is something wrong,” said Haye. “He needs something in his camp that he didn’t have.”
The question is what? Joshua has a nutritionist, a psychologist, a strength and conditioning trainer, the experience of McCracken, physios, video analysts – the list goes on.
He runs a lot for a heavyweight, so an engine should be a given. Love or loathe Joshua, for any fighter to be in a ring, exposed and aware they are drowning, is nothing short of lonely.
Could it have been an inner fatigue caused by his countless commercial obligations? He said this week that trying to promote boxing and his US debut “takes so much work”.
