For the first time in more than a decade there is a realistic chance the world will have a heavyweight champion not named Klitschko after Saturday night.

In what shapes up as the most compelling and competitive title fight since Lennox Lewis ruled the roost, Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 52 KOs) risks his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO crowns against No 1-ranked Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KOs) at the Olympic Sports Palace in Moscow.

The last time a heavyweight championship bout made a ripple it terms of relevance on the international stage was in 2003, when Lewis was awarded a gift TKO over Vitali Klitschko (Wladimir's older brother) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Klitschko was leading on all three scorecards when the ringside doctor stopped the fight after six rounds because of a deep cut over the challenger's left eye.