It is a contest, for a purse of $35 million (almost £24 million), between two heavyweights who have both brought disgrace to the sport of boxing. In one corner is Mike Tyson, the convicted rapist who bit off part of his opponent's ear in the last fight. In the other, Francois Botha, who was stripped of his title four years ago for testing positive for steroids.
There is nothing in sport quite as menacing as Tyson's foul mouth and violent temper, both of which have been much in evidence in Las Vegas this week. When he is not declaring that his comeback opponent Botha is going to "die", he has been treating television reporters to a string of vulgar tirades.
But when, at about 4 a.m. Irish time tomorrow, the former world champion clambers into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden - the same ring in which he bit Evander Holyfield 17 months ago - he will have to overcome a man who has had almost as many battles with boxing's authorities as himself.
There is no doubting Botha's appetite for a fight. His career has been one long war with the authorities, who stripped him of his IBF belt in 1995 after a positive drugs test.
"His chin is vulnerable. All I need is one punch to win the whole fight," said Botha.
"My mind is my biggest asset. I can't be scared. His entourage have tried to intimidate me but they can't."
Botha reckons his best chance of knocking Tyson down is first to wind him up. So he plans to whisper sour nothings in Tyson's ear throughout the fight.
For Tyson the stakes could not be higher, not least the chance to redeem a reputation and a place in history as one of the world's great boxers.
Few men could command a $35 million purse for a non-title fight, even though the event is not a sell-out. Few men display such a complex range of characteristics, yet there is no doubt the man who at 20 became the youngest heavyweight champion still carries the weight of celebrity like an overpacked suitcase.
But he has almost reached his limit for carrying on more controversy. When the Botha fight is over Tyson must return to Maryland to face a judge who could remand him to prison over a road rage case where he has pleaded "no contest" to assaulting two motorists. It is more likely he will be fined, which should not prove too much of a hardship considering his phenomenal earning power.