When it comes to learning from the year that has passed, which individual has had more tough lessons than Jamie McDonnell?
The Hatfield bantamweight tasted world championship glory with his thrilling victory over tough Mexican Julio Ceja.
He captured the IBF championship on a grand stage laid on just for him, winning the strap under the stars at the Keepmoat.
As high as that point of his career was, it proved a solitary highlight in a year that ultimately will be remembered for the lows.
Six months later, the world title was gone. Not lost, but rather stripped by the IBF for failing to agree a mandatory defence.
Now, the IBF title that McDonnell never lost lies in the hands of Stuart Hall, the Darlington fighter he convincingly beat more than two years ago.
Boxing politics have bitten McDonnell and they chomped down hard. The rights and wrongs of the decision, plus the split from long time manager Dennis Hobson, have long been debated but what’s done is done.
We are now in 2014 when his quest to become world king again begins.
A date in front of the British Boxing Board of Control along with Hobson awaits McDonnell this month and the most bitter days of this unwelcome saga are still ahead. But there are plenty of days to look forward to inside the ring.
The IBF are still to reveal where he will be placed in the rankings but there is a strong chance he will be made mandatory challenger, setting up a tantalising rematch with Hall who is guided by Hobson.
One of McDonnell’s biggest lessons came in his last fight of 2013, a ‘ticking over’ bout with Abigail Medina. The Spain-based fighter gave McDonnell a test, and a wake-up call.
He now knows the route back to the top will not be a simple one. Nothing will be handed to him as easily as the world title was taken away.
The 27-year-old is evolving into a dangerous animal. He has learned the lesson of not underestimating any foe.
But the most important factor is quite simple – he has tasted world title glory and he wants to savour the flavour once again.