Joe Joyce declared his "journey will continue" after his world-title ambitions were rocked by a shock first career defeat against Zhilei Zhang.
The British heavyweight, 37, suffered a sixth-round technical knockout at London's Copper Box Arena on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight as Joyce struggled with a swollen eye, having suffered repeatedly against the hard-hitting of China's Zhang.
"I've had my loss but I'll be back," Joyce told BBC Sport.
"The journey will continue."
Joyce's swollen eye, inspected twice by the ringside doctor, was hindering his sight by the time Foster called a halt.
But the Londoner said: "I can still see through it, I think it's just bruised. It's a formality to go to the hospital now to check it's not fractured or anything."
In addition to his undefeated record, Joyce's defeat has also cost him his WBO interim belt and his status as mandatory challenger for unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk's WBO title.
Joyce had made his ring entrance to the theme from sci-fi film The Terminator, but said afterwards: "It looks like I've got a terminator eye now. It's unfortunate but I'll be back. I thought I was doing well in there."
Throughout fight week, there was much talk on when Joyce - who had held mandatory challenger status since July 2021 - would get his world-title shot.
Although it was not something Joyce was guilty of himself, many fans and pundits may have overlooked the threat of 'Big Bang' Zhang.
Joyce's relentless approach, which often leaves his defences exposed, has earned him the nickname 'Juggernaut'.
In previous fights, such as last September's win over Joseph Parker, Joyce's much talked about 'granite chin' enabled him to shrug off a heavy hit as if it were a gust of wind.
But in east London, Joyce faced arguably his biggest-hitting opponent to date. Zhang, who was 1st 9lb heavier at Friday's weigh-in, is a considerably bigger puncher than Parker.
A southpaw heavyweight with strong amateur pedigree - winning silver at the 2008 Olympic Games - the 39-year-old's only loss came on points to Filip Hrgovic in August, in a fight many observers felt he won.
"I couldn't get away from his straight left. He kept on nailing me in the eye and it swelled up my eye," Joyce said.
