It all unraveled for Wladamir Klitschko in 2004, when Lamon Brewster spoiled the comeback party by knocking out the Ukrainian in the 5th round. Klitschko, trying to rebuild his name after his stunning KO loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003, had beaten two previous opponents before Brewster threw a fork in his plans. Klitschko's camp has blamed everything from an excess amount of Vaseline on Klitschko's body causing him to overheat, to poison, to tainted water.

Conspiracy theories aside, Brewster's win is slightly tainted by the allegations, and he seeks to put them to rest with a dominant repeat performance tomorrow night at the Cologne Arena in Germany. Klitschko seeks to erase the memory of their previous fight by avenging the loss.

Since their first bout, Klitshcko has once again ascended to the near top of the heavyweight division, while Brewster lingers somewhere around heavyweight purgatory. Though the division has lacked a linear champion since the retirement of Wladamir's brother Vitali--now set to return--Wladamir is widely seen as the man to beat over 200 lbs. His solid performances over Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd, and Calvin Brock have earned him a spot near the top, but in order to prove himself a dominant champion, he must avenge his losses to Sanders and Brewster. In their first fight, Klitschko, 48-3 (43), was dominating Brewster with his jab and even knocked him down. Then he ran out of gas after punching himself out, and disaster struck in the form of a Brewster left hook, a desperation punch winged from the ropes. If Klitschko can once again dominate with his jab and right hand from the outside, he should be able to stop his opponent. But the first few rounds will not be easy, as Brewster is sure to jump all over the Ukrainian and test his suspect chin.

Brewster, 33-3 (29), arrived on the scene with his stoppage of Klitschko, but has had mixed success since then. In 2004 he decisioned Kali Meehan in a lacklustre effort, then blew out Pole Andrew Golota in Chicago with a magnificent 1st round knockout in 2005. In his next bout he went to Germany and stopped Luan Krasniqi, but then suffered a detached retina in a hard fought loss to Sergei Lyakhovich, a bout seen as a fight of the year candidate. Brewster has been inactive for thirteen months, the same number of months he'd gone without fighting before beating Klitschko the first time.

Either Brewster has Klitschko's number or Dr. Steelhammer uses that bludgeon of a right hand to vindicate himself. Klitschko, 31, to his credit, has given Brewster an opportunity to prove that lightning strikes twice, but he also realizes that in order to achieve boxing immortality you must defeat the men that defeated you (see Lennox Lewis). Defeating Brewster will be a big step toward that goal. For Brewster, his only chance for victory lies in his alias "Relentless". Brewster, 34, has a heart as big as Texas, and a lot of dynamite packed in those fists. He may not be able to outbox his taller, younger opponent over twelve rounds, but if he comes out the way he did against Golota--and the way Sanders stormed out against Klitschko--he might not have to.

Prediction: Brewster KO 3