To understand how weak boxing's heavyweight division is, consider this: Mike Tyson is not listed in Ring magazine's current pound-for-pound ratings, and hasn't been for a while, but because of his name he is still the gauge with which the current crop of heavyweights is meausered by. So when Englishman and journeyman Danny Williams knocked out Tyson in July, he found himself in the running for a chance at fighting for the world heavyweight championship.

Now, this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, he'll get that chance as Vitali Klitschko's first defence of the title after winning it by knocking out Corrie Sanders. But does Williams stand a chance?

Williams, 6'1" and 32-3 (27), mostly against European opposition, is giving up six inches in height. He has good power in both hands, decent hand speed and sound boxing skills. Klitschko, however awkward and unrefined his plodding style may be, is 34-2 (33) against much better opponents and can hit extremely hard. What it may come down to is who has the bigger heart.

Klitschko gets a slight edge in this department. His courageous stand versus Lennox Lewis in which he received 62 stitches is the ying to William's yang - his bouts of emotional stress before important fights. True, Williams pulled himself together enough to defeat Tyson in four rounds, but it was a 38-year-old Tyson who hadn't fought in 17 months and who injured his leg in the first round. even Williams conceded that the Tyson he beat was but a shell of his former self.

One thing is for sure, though - Klitschko-Williams is not going the distance. The fight will be a cross between Klitshcko's fights with Lewis and Sanders. Though William's trainer has said that his fighter will be in better shape to go 12 rounds than Vitali, Williams will not be able to execute his game plan in order to make that happen. The larger, more determined Ukrainian will stop Williams inside of four rounds, and leave the ring still heavyweight champion of the world.

Prediction: Klitschko KO 2.