Lennox Lewis is set for a $100 million dollar finale to his career after relinquishing his IBF world title.
The abdication, which still leaves him as WBC and IBO champion, has cleared the way for a final flourish which would cement the place in heavyweight history he desires.
The plan, under his new three-fight deal with American TV station HBO, is for a fight with former WBO heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, a return with Mike Tyson and a showdown with the younger Klitschko brother, WBO holder Wladimir, before he heads for retirement.
Lewis decided to hand in his belt rather than face a court ruling to meet Chris Byrd who despite being, the mandatory challenger, did not rate highly on the earning or entertainment scales.
HBO, apparently, did not see the Byrd fight as a big enough attraction, a fact Lewis referred to when he described the prospect of meeting the American as "not attractive enough" in the statement he released explaining his decision to give up the IBF title.
The Ukraine-born Klitschko brothers are huge attractions in Germany, where they are now based. Vitali won the WBO title when he destroyed Herbie Hide in two rounds in London in 1999 while Wladimir put Byrd in his place, beating him on a landslide points decision.
The 6ft 7ins lookalike brothers both have the credentials to provide genuine tests for Lewis in the twilight of his career and, although he totally outclassed Tyson, the notoriety and name of the disgraced former undisputed heavyweight champion make a second clash a big sell.
Lewis's official statement said: "Prior to today, my team and I had already determined that there was no public interest in a Lennox Lewis-Chris Byrd bout.
"My decision was also based upon the fact that I believe, as I have said repeatedly, that Chris Byrd offers no competitive challenge to me.
"The fact is that the champion makes the belt important, not the other way around. Accordingly, in light of a court order and an IBF ruling that would have required me to fight a meaningless fight against Chris Byrd in order to keep the IBF belt, I had no choice but to vacate.
"As I have recently stated, the world has yet to see the best of Lennox Lewis."