All is not lost for Joseph Parker.
The now-former WBO champion will have to join a long line of contenders to earn his way back into heavyweight title contention, but the waters may not be as murky as you think.
Before the Kiwi claimed the WBO title in November 2016, when he topped Andy Ruiz by decision, he was ranked near the top of both the WBO and IBF heayweight rankings.
The 26-year-old is likely to end up somewhere in the top five of the WBO rankings, once they get updated later this month.
Because he held the WBO strap, Parker isn't currently ranked by any other organisation, but that could change with a cheque from David Higgins or Bob Arum.
So who exactly should Team Parker be targeting for their next fight?
That question is not that difficult to answer once you get a clearer picture of the heavyweight division.
What do we know?
We know that Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder hold the four major titles between them.
Wilder's new mandatory challenger is Dillian Whyte, who will probably match up against Kubrat Pulev in June to determine the mandatory challenger for Joshua's IBF title.
Having dispatched Luiz Ortiz last month, Wilder is free to fight anyone he chooses within the top 15. How about a statement fight against fellow American Dominic Breazeale?
Breazeale was destroyed by Joshua inside eight rounds two years ago. What better way for Wilder to show up the Brit than by finishing their only common opponent inside that distance.
That simplifies things greatly, as the next six months of heavyweight action is laid out on a plate.
With Whyte and Pulev out of the immediate mix, Joshua's camp could be looking at a June/July title defence against Alexander Povetkin, who is Joshua's mandatory in both the WBO and WBA.
That's a no brainer, with the Russian knocking out David Price on the Joshua vs Parker undercard - it's an easy sell for promoter Eddie Hearn.
There is way too much ego at stake to make Wilder vs Joshua happen in June at Wembley Stadium - that fight is probably still 18 months away. Joshua and his team hold all the power, and will see no need to rush this.
David Haye is fighting Tony Bellew in May, so that rules the British pair out.
That leaves three names of note for Parker - Jarrell Miller, Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury.
Forget Fury - the former champion is planning his comeback, but he gains nothing in fighting Parker.
A loss would be disastrous and virtually eliminate any chance of a future showdown with Joshua.
A fight with the Kiwi isn't 'box office' enough for Tyson Fury. His return fight will likely be the winner of Haye vs Bellew.
That makes sense - it's big money and leaves the winner primed for a shot at the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Ortiz is interesting, but comes with huge risk for the Kiwi.
He is technically the best boxer in the division. He showed that by giving Wilder fits for most of their brutal scrap last month.
He had Wilder a punch away from defeat, but couldn't finish the job.
There is a real danger that Ortiz could make Parker look silly and at this stage, the Kiwi doesn't need to fight the Cuban, so that fight doesn't make sense.
So by process of elimination, that leaves Miller. The American is ranked third in the WBA, IBF and WBO.
Miller is undefeated at 20-0, having recently knocked out Mariusz Wach in November. He is booked for a fight with fellow top-10 prospect Johann Duhaupas, but he is expected to dispatch the Frenchman comfortably.
Should he come out of that April 28 fight relatively unscathed, then a showdown with Parker - in the US, promoted by Bob Arum - makes perfect sense for the Kiwi.
It gives him exposure in a new market against an American challenger who has 15 knockouts to his name and is making waves in heavyweight boxing.
Miller is a banana skin for the Kiwi, but doesn't offer the same technical challenge of a Ortiz and, at 1.93m, is the same height as Parker.
Parker showed against Joshua that he is incredibly hard to hit with power punches. He got caught on the end of the Brit's jab for most of the 12 rounds, but avoided all of the major weapons that Joshua had to offer.
Parker would back himself to outbox the American and a statement win would immediately propel the Kiwi into the top five of three of the four major boxing organisations.
Make no mistake, it is a long way back to a title for the Kiwi, but a few wins against ranked opponents will have Parker chomping at the heels of Wilder, Fury, Whyte and Joshua.
Brad Lewis is a combat sports reporter for Newshub.
