Wladimir Klitschko is a heavyweight enigma: blessed with what most experts agree are by far the best tactical attributes in the division today, yet at the same time blighted by a carelessness which can turn the most routine assignments into a rollercoaster ride.
The younger of the two Ukrainian Klitschko brothers has been written off more times than most top fighters of his era, yet each time has rebounded to establish himself again as the heavyweight number one, a status he will take into the ring with him against David Haye.
After winning the 1996 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal, Klitschko turned professional in Germany where, having fought his way to the brink of a world title shot, he was shockingly stopped in the 10th round of his fight with journeyman Ross Puritty in Kiev in December 1998.
Chastened, Klitschko quickly returned and a succession of impressive wins culminated in him winning the WBO version of the world crown by outpointing American Chris Byrd in 2000.
After five defences, Klitschko's kamikaze tendency surfaced again in the most dramatic of ways when he was blown away in the second round by the run-of-the-mill South African Corrie Sanders in March 2003.
The rehabilitation process stuttered as he was stopped again by Lamon Brewster in a bid for the same, now vacant crown in April 2004. Finally, however, it seemed the younger Klitschko had learned his lesson the hard way. He has not lost since.
Haye has been quick to denounce Klitschko as a boring, robotic fighter, but the nature of his one-sided wins since his loss to Brewster have been due more to the reticence of his opponents to engage than they have to any lack of explosiveness on Klitschko's part.
He has swatted away a succession of survivors, some of whom were hanging on for one last pay-day and others who entered the ring as so-called next big things in a division woefully short of star quality, only to be brutally exposed.
Among the latter was Calvin Brock, sent spinning to his first defeat with consummate ease by Klitschko in November 2006. Revenge against Brewster was followed by one-sided wins against the likes of Sultan Ibragimov, Tony Thompson and Ruslan Chagaev - supposedly among the best the division could muster.
Just like Haye, who is still smarting from public reaction to his farce against Audley Harrison, Klitschko is badly in need of a career-defining fight. There are still those who are grudging in their credit because of his early career blow-outs at the hands of fighters hardly fit to lace most champions' boots.
Victory against Haye would erase all those bad memories, and surely, belatedly, grant the younger Klitschko the acclaim he would deserve.
