Michael Conlan says he "cried for days" after losing out in his world title bid back in March.
The Belfast boxer was seconds away from realising a lifelong ambition, but Leigh Wood's brutal 12th-round knockout sent Conlan - and his dreams - crashing through the ropes at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham.
Five months on and the 30-year-old has refocused, accepting that March's defeat was a mere bump on his road to glory.
Read more: Belfast boxer hits out after fight on Michael Conlan undercard is cancelled
"It took a bit of time (to get over the Wood defeat). I took a bit of time off from the gym and went away to Portugal," he said.
"I think it was eight weeks in total that I was off. I took my time.
"I cried a little bit, probably for a few days. Obviously I was very down, but then my mindset shifted to 'let's get back'.
"As a pro, my journey probably looks very straightforward. But now the road is winding, which is a good thing.
"It has brought the hunger back which starts to fade a little bit when things are a little bit easy at times. I am not saying I have had it easy.
"I have had it tough in the way I have done things, and now we have a winding road. And I have an estimate of how much time I have left in boxing, and I know what I have to do."
Conlan admits he trawled over that final round in Nottingham countless times in his head. Up until Wood landed the defining knockout punch, the Belfast man had fought like a warrior in front of a cauldron Motorpoint atmosphere.
Time has been a greater healder, and he now adopts a philosophical stance on that night, accepting that it "happened for a reason" and is part of his journey to become world champion.
"That question of 'what if?'. What if I did this? What if I did that? All these things rang through my head after the Wood fight," he said.
"The only thing I would put that down to is that it was meant to happen that way. That's the only thing I can think of.
"It wasn't his ability or his power, it was my own fatigue that did me in the end. And I probably got greedy because of my success during the fight.
"My opinion hasn't changed on Leigh. I said before how tough and resilient he is. I would probably say he is more resilient than I thought.
"So I am happy enough. I understand the mistakes, and also where I went right. And I think it will be sweeter when I win a world title."
Conlan had a number of options for his comeback fight, but opted for another acid test against rugged Miguel Marriaga.
The Colombian has more knockouts than Conlan has had fights, and has only been stopped once - that was by pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko when Marriaga was retired on his stool.
"My team asked if I wanted more time off after the Wood fight and I said 'no, I am ready to come back'," Conlan said.
"We had easier opponents offered but when I saw Miguel Marriaga's name I said 'that's the one I want'.
"He has been in with the best guys and has only been stopped by Vasyl Lomachenko, and his corner stopped that fight.
"It is a tough test but one I believe I will be successful in."
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