The Klitschko brothers make no secret of their goal to dominate the heavyweight division and own world titles at the same time.
But while Vitali Klitschko appears right on course after battering fellow contender Kirk Johnson two weeks ago, no one now knows when younger brother Wladimir can live up to his end of the dream.
The Klitschko camp isn't even sure when Wladimir will get another title shot.
"Good question. Nobody knows," Wladimir said.
The Ukrainian (41-2, 38 knockouts) needs to first wipe away the memories of his Corrie Sanders fight in March, when the South African demolished him in two rounds to take away his WBO title.
He hopes to take a step in that direction when he faces 36-year-old Danell Nicholson (42-4, 32 knockouts) on Saturday in Germany. The experienced American owns a win over former WBA champion John Ruiz and has fought the likes of David Tua and Andrew Golota.
"Wladimir is the best boxer in the world, but without a win against Nicholson, there's no sense talking about a title fight," Vitali Klitschko said.
Vitali, five years older, has always touted the 27-year-old Wladimir as the more talented of the two fighters. In fact, for years, the younger brother was the one groomed for the big fights, the family's big hope after winning the 1996 Olympic super heavyweight gold medal as a 19-year-old.
But that's all been turned upside down since Wladimir was knocked out by Sanders and Vitali's subsequent rise, which started with the June 21 fight against Lewis in Los Angeles. The Ukrainian was leading on the scorecards against the consensus world champion before the fight was stopped because of Klitschko's cuts.
But Wladimir appears to have no trouble taking a back seat to his big brother, who some say is now the heavyweight division's biggest attraction.
"I think the Johnson fight was one of his best performances ever," Wladimir said. "There's only one people's champion. I'm so proud of my brother."
It's a testimony to the drawing power of the Klitschkos that all 10,000 seats in the arena for the fight in Kiel, a north German port city, have been sold out for weeks.
Some expected Klitschko to jump right back into the heavyweight scene again after the Sanders defeat, taking on a big name like Tua or a Sanders rematch to quickly rehabilitate his reputation.
Instead, his comeback has been cautious. He climbed back in the ring in August to record a 97 second knockout of Fabio Moli, a hopelessly overmatched Argentine fighter who had never been in the ring outside of South America.
Klitschko promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl defended Nicholson as the right opponent for his charge. The big 6ft 6ins Wladimir will be facing another good-sized heavyweight, with Nicholson listed at 6ft 4ins.
"Danell Nicholson is exactly the kind of opponent that Wladimir currently needs," Kohl said. "A hard to fight, hard hitting American. Wladimir needs this kind of fighter after a year of very mixed success."
Nicholson knows he's expected to be a stepping-stone for Klitschko, having played out his title chances with the losses to Tua, Johnson and Golota. But maybe he can hope for the success of Sanders, who thrust himself back into the heavyweight title mix with his knockout of Wladimir.
"I came over here to win," Nicholson said.
Klitschko said his problem against Sanders was that he wasn't hungry, in fact a little bored after quick back-to-back fights following a knockout of Jameel McCline.
"But I'm hungry now to get back into the ring. My biggest motivation is working hard to make sure me and my brother will be world champions at the same time."
Klitschko should be prepared for the fight. His camp said he's gone through three sets of sparring partners in Los Angeles, New York and Kiel.
Klitschko-Nicholson: a preview
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MightyWarrior
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