If David Haye follows his gambling instincts tonight and unleashes something dangerous but special on Nikolai Valuev, the real prize will be much greater than a quarter slice of a world title. A spectacular knockout of the biggest man in the history of the championship would make Haye the most marketable heavyweight in boxing since Mike Tyson.
"No one's ever done to Valuev what I'm going to do to him," Haye said last night, in a statement of intent that sounded similar to that of his hero, Muhammad Ali, before he "shook up the world" against Sonny Liston in Miami 45 years ago.
How far the game has fallen since then. In an era and division depressingly lacking in box-office excitement, Haye is ideally placed, and has the tools to make an impact that will resonate far beyond the woods of Bavaria.
He has angered and confused the sensitive wing of the fight game with his provocative sub-Ali trash-talking to promote what would have otherwise been a non-event – and he knows his charm and fighting style are what boxing badly needs.
When he won the world cruiserweight title by getting off the floor to knock out Jean-Marc Mormeck in Paris nearly two years ago, then demolished Enzo Maccarinelli in two rounds in Greenwich, it presaged a move to the big battalions, so weight-drained had he become. Among interested ringsiders in Paris was Don King's stepson, Carl. "This kid is the future of heavyweight boxing," he said, "for four reasons: he's good-looking, he's chinny, he knocks people out and he's not Russian."
America, still the sport's hub but challenged lately by Europe, especially Germany, is crying out for someone to break the old eastern bloc hegemony of the heavyweight division. The Americans have none of their own; they could soon adopt a former male model and nightclubbing playboy from Bermondsey, much as they took to Naseem Hamed and Ricky Hatton.
The elder King, who is part of this promotion, arrived in Nuremberg with his typical flourish yesterday and immediately lifted energy levels. He stood taller and louder among some very tall individuals at the weigh-in, where Haye came in at 15st 8lb, exactly seven stones lighter than the champion, and both fighters left the stage with hardly a glance for each other.
Asked if Haye could become the new Hatton if he knocked out Valuev, King, who has a management share of the champion, said: "Boxing needs a spark, and David Haye would be a great spark, but when I take Valuev back to America and I get it together, he's going to be a giant spark. He has the size, the capability. He just has to get that fighting instinct. Nikolai Valuev will knock David Haye out. After we win, he can kiss the babies and kiss the ladies."
However, if Haye does what he has been dreaming about for weeks, it is not inconceivable we will see King step over the fallen form of Valuev to embrace the winner – as he famously did the night in Kingston, Jamaica, 36 years ago when George Foreman knocked out his man Joe Frazier – with promises of enormous riches.
"My plan is still to get out at 31," Haye said. "I've got brilliant options. You've obviously got the Klitschkos [Vitali and Wladimir, who hold versions of the title] who say they aren't interested, but they will be if I win because there is no one else for them to fight. They can keep fighting guys like Kevin Johnson [who challenges Vitali in Berne next month], but they're getting old now and fights like that add nothing to someone's legacy. They want me as much as I want them and, after this fight, that will definitely be the case."
There is another fighter to beat before he can hunt down the Klitschkos, the dull, ever-present John Ruiz, who fights on the undercard tonight, and has taken $200,000 (£120,000) step-aside money to allow Haye to take what would have been his own third shot at Valuev. Part of the deal he did was to get to fight the winner.
For now there is the small matter of big Nikolai, and all the fine talk could evaporate in the crack of an uppercut on the smaller man's vulnerable chin because the World Boxing Association champion ought not be dismissed as a curiosity. He is a well-schooled, disciplined if predictable operator, who works behind a tree-trunk jab and likes to rumble through opponents with sheer weight, power and determination. The fight could easily be over the first time Valuev lands.
Nevertheless, Haye has a credible strategy. "I can see him getting frustrated," he said, "because the fight won't go the way he wants it to. Everything is regimented, typical eastern bloc schooling. I know what they are like and they just keep doing the same thing over and over again. Once I find my range he won't be able to adjust. I won't let him get away with anything. If he comes out fast, I'll go with him. My engine is there." But logic, and quite a few good judges, say Haye can't win.
"Who would have thought Muhammad Ali would have beaten George Foreman?" He countered. "Foreman was supposed to be too strong, he had knocked out Frazier. Ali was supposed to be going to slaughter. But I don't look at the stats because it comes down to two people fighting.
"This is what makes the heavyweights great, fights like this. Look at Mike Tyson: he wasn't very big at 5ft 11in. When he turned pro who would have thought he would become one of the greatest heavyweights ever? He weighed 215lb and people probably thought he was a bit small."
There is excitement attaching itself to the fight that was not there even a couple of days ago. All week we seemed to be part of a surreal piece of theatre. There were the repetitive insults, the tiresome cliches, the endless bar-room discussions about size and power and speed and history.
For Haye, it has been different. His take on tonight has been a weird mix of science and fantasy. While sculpting his body with hi-tech machinery designed to better equip him for punching upwards at the enveloping shadow that is the WBA champion, he has gone to bed, dreaming.
Last night, no doubt, he dreamed again of Valuev toppling, ever so slowly, to the canvas. In mischievous moments, he imagines him disappearing through the floor.
"I'm in the best condition I've ever been in," he said, as fighters always do. "Sparring, the last session I had on Sunday, was the best session I've ever had in terms of the intensity, strategy and the variety of punches."
The work is done. Now he has to make it happen. It might not be the spectacular end he envisages. It could be a desperately close points decision. There probably will be controversy and farce. But Haye can win. And, with all due respect to a dignified champion, boxing should be grateful.