By Mark Staniforth
You can hardly blame Vitali Klitschko for admitting this week he would relish the opportunity to pick up where his younger brother Wladimir left off and hand David Haye a knockout blow.
These truly are desperate times for boxing's heavyweight division, and it has come to something when a fighter so comprehensively outclassed in Hamburg remains an attractive option for a defending champion.
If the Klitschkos did not have the kind of appeal which sells out stadiums in Germany and Ukraine irrespective of their opponents, they would have run out of viable options a long time ago.
This is an era in which Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury, two heavyweight fighters who have barely strayed beyond domestic level, are being held up as legitimate challengers to the Klitschkos.
The way things are going, the chronic lack of talent among the pretenders will soon lead promoters to cast a beady eye over the amateur ranks for fighters they can instantly hype into the so-called next big thing.
Pete Rademacher fought Floyd Paterson for the world title in his first professional fight in 1957 - why not give the same chance to Italy's big-punching world and Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle?
Stranger things have happened, and let's face it, Cammarelle could not do a lot worse than the slew of contenders - Haye included - whom the Klitschko brothers have been routinely putting to the sword in recent times.
Haye is yet to express an opinion on Vitali's offer, but even in that big bombastic head of his he must acknowledge it would be career suicide to accept a straight-off showdown against the other brother.
Besides, to do so Haye would need to meekly accept a tiny fraction of the 50-50 purse which made him rich against Wladimir, and win over a public who have every reason to be sceptical about his chances.
On a fire-fighting visit to London this week, Golden Boy boss Richard Schaefer spoke a degree of sense as he sought to begin rebuilding the Haye brand in which his company has invested so heavily.
Clearly, there were promotional and money-making motives behind his rather simplistic claims that a fight with Vitali would - contrary to Wladimir - allow Haye to exhibit all of his fast and explosive attributes.
Been there, heard that. But Schaefer also said it would be in Haye's best interests to return with him to the United States and start to rebuild his heavyweight career with a couple of fights away from the unforgiving home-town glare.
Schaefer mentioned former challenger Chris Arreola as the possible first fight of a prospective comeback: certainly a justifiable contest irrespective of the context in which Schaefer is trying to place it.
First, Haye needs to decide on his level of commitment to his sport, and face the fact that another Klitschko showdown is certainly not going to happen before his stated October retirement date.
He may choose to head across the Atlantic and bow out by beating Arreola on the Las Vegas Strip - not a bad way to end a career which brought a unified cruiserweight crown as well as a fraction of the heavyweight title.
On the other hand, he may acknowledge that the Klitschko brothers will always remain too tall a challenge, and see if he can boil back down to the cruiserweight limit and attempt to regain his belts.
No matter if Haye's absence from the heavyweight top table is to be a permanent or fleeting one. The Klitschkos desperately need new contenders who can carry Haye's level of hype into a title contest.
That is why they may well be watching next year's super-heavyweight final at the London Olympics with rather more than the customary level of interest. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just ask David Haye.
Mark Staniforth covers the boxing scene for Press Association Sport
