But Sam may reach new competence

I’m so contrary that caffeine puts me to sleep, so it should not be a surprise that I look upon Samuel Peter, the Nigerian Nightmare who five years later finally gets his rematch with one of the Ph.D. champions, as boxing’s great black hope.

No, this is not going to be a racist rant. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in charge of that department (see YouTube if you really must). It’s just that Peter, now based in Las Vegas, looks to be the best – and perhaps only – chance of wresting a heavyweight title from one of the Brothers Karamazov.

Oops, we mean Brothers Klitschko, who are not that much easier to read.

Fact is, I was one of the first to have the Ukrainian brothers all wrong. Back in their amateur days, the Soviet boxing brain trust regarded Vitali, the older, and taller, of the Klitschkos as No. 1.

When they turned pro, though, Wladimir was the one with an Olympic gold medal, and heir German promoter also regarded Vitali as the most likely to succeed.

First time I saw the 6-foot-6½ inch Wladimir, I regarded him as less robotic and more athletic than the 6-foot-8 Vitali. First impressions can be very wrong. First time I saw Vitali, I thought he quit – while ahead on the official scorecards – against Chris Byrd. I labeled him Chicken Kiev. Okay, his shoulder was hurting, but more importantly, in his Eastern European culture, losing was no big deal, no bigger than losing a hand of gin rummy. Shuffle the cards and let’s play another game.

I think Vitaly was shocked by the accusations of "quitter." Years later, when he suffered much worse against Lennox Lewis, he bravely continued until the doctors ruled otherwise.

Wladimir, meanwhile, has needed a transplant of courage from the great trainer Emanuel Steward to keep him going over the years. He may be called "Dr. Steelhammer," but he was also suspected of being Dr. Glasschin – stopped not only by the part-time South African golfer/boxer, Corrie Sanders, but also by the unremarkable Lamon Brewster.

Five years ago to the month, Wladimir was dropped three times in a 12-round "eliminator" by the then-undefeated Sam Peter. He got up three times, but he has been a hesitant warrior ever since, almost turning his back from trouble to make his escape.

Outside of the knockdowns, though, Wladimir boxed Peter’s brains out. He won on all three official cards by 114-111 margins – losing two points for each round he was floored. Peter rebounded by winning a "title" from Oleg Maskaev, but immediately was thrashed for eight rounds and forced to surrender to Vitaly.

Peter fell even further when, at a career-high 265 pounds, he was out-pointed by the light-hitting Eddie Chambers. But he is on a modest four-fight winning streak, against rather easy opposition, since hiring Abel Sanchez as his trainer and he now is a very live underdog to the 10-1 favorite in Frankfurt (live on ESPN3.com, on tape a couple of hours later on ESPN Desportes).

I’d be tempted by the buyback of about plus $6. We know Peter has the power to hurt Wladimir. This time, he says, "I will redeem myself. He will be down and will not stand up again."

That would, of course, prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Vitali is the best Klitschko heavyweight – though I am prepared to say also that the two brothers are, literally and figuratively, head and shoulders above the rest of the world.