There were two sticking points whenever David Adeleye opened his mouth recently. One was that he was ready to go to the next level. The other? Well, that Fabio Wardley was all talk. This past Saturday night, the bombastic heavyweight prospect was wrong all around.

Adeleye pranced to the ring as confident as ever. Even as blood dripped from his nose, Adeleye stuck his tongue out as he laid on the canvas.

Losing is a bitter pill to swallow for most prospects. They’ve been told that their the next big thing and often feel invincible in the ring. So, when that inevitable defeat occurs, sadness and rage are the bubbling emotions. Adeleye, on the other hand, isn’t like most. He was never fooled into believing he would have the sort of spotless career that Floyd Mayweather had. However, while he was level-headed, coming up short for the first time is something that he’s still trying to wrap his head around.

“It is what it is, I’ll bounce back,” Adeleye told Queensberry Promotions. “I didn’t think I was gonna retire undefeated anyways. I just didn’t think my defeat would come this soon or at this level.”

Losing isn’t what’s keeping the loquacious Britt up at night, it’s who he lost to. Wardley, at least according to Adeleye, isn’t some behemoth in the boxing world. So naturally, losing to him is a bemusing outcome. Putting the knockout aside, Adeleye was hardly able to win rounds. In fact, two judges had Wardley pitching a shutout with the remaining third observer giving Adeleye just one three-minute frame.

Be that as it may, Adeleye considers Wardley’s win as nothing more than fluky or a bad night for himself. His record may indicate that he isn’t quite as good as his rival but if you asked Adeleye, he’ll never be willing to admit it.

“I know I’m better than Wardley.”