For Moses Itauma, Saturday's clash with Filip Hrgovic represents the opportunity to make history.
Since making his professional debut just three years ago Itauma has announced himself as the most destructive force to emerge in the heavyweight division in recent memory.
Still aged just 21, the 6ft 4in southpaw has so far proven unstoppable, winning all but two of his bouts inside the distance and claiming eight first-round knockouts.
In recent outings Itauma has further cemented his reputation with dominant victories over established heavyweight contenders Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin.
This weekend however he faces his toughest test to date in the form of Croatia's Hrgovic.
The 2016 Olympic medallist has lost just one of his 21 fights and is ranked among the best heavyweights in the world today.
Oleksandr Usyk's decision to relinquish his undisputed titles has blown boxing's glamour division wide open, and earlier this month it was announced that the now-vacant IBF heavyweight title will be on the line at the O2 Arena in London.
Should Itauma claim victory he will become the youngest heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick in 1986.
With that in mind, we've taken a look back at some of the youngest fighters ever to have claimed heavyweight gold.
Youngest heavyweight champions in history
5. Jack Dempsey - 24 years, 10 days
One of the most iconic fighters ever to step between the ropes, Jack Dempsey emerged from poverty to become one of the most recognisable sports stars of his era.
After racking up an astonishing 75 professional fights over the course of less than five years Dempsey was given his shot at the world heavyweight title in the summer of 1919.
His opponent, Jess Willard was famous for being the man to dethrone the great Jack Johnson four years earlier and was significantly larger than the challenger, standing 6ft 6in and weighing 245lbs.
Famed for his aggressive style, Dempsey immediately took the fight to the lumbering Willard, knocking him down six times in the first round alone and remaining in control before Willard was forced to retire before the start of the fourth.
Dempsey would go on to defend the title five times before hanging up his gloves in 1927 with a record of 63 wins, six losses and nine draws.
4. Joe Louis - 23 years, 1 month, 9 days
No fighter in heavyweight history has made more title defenses than the great Joe Louis.
A trailblazer and star of one of boxing's golden eras, Louis had a distinguished amateur career and turned professional at the age of 20 in July 1934.
In the space of two years the Brown Bomber had established himself as one of the greatest forces the division had ever seen, though few could have imagined just how dominant he would remain after knocking out James J. Braddock in 1937 to become heavyweight champion.
Over the course of the next 12 years Louis would made a record 25 title defenses, including avenging his only career defeat against Max Schmeling in one of the most famous fights of all time.
After briefly announcing his retirement in 1949 Louis would return to the ring the following year to defend his lineal status against newly-crowned king Ezzard Charles, who would go on to get his hand raised via decision.
3. Muhammad Ali - 22 years, 8 days
Worlds fail to capture the impact that Muhammad Ali had not just on boxing, but on sport and culture as a whole throughout his lifetime.
Aptly nicknamed The Greatest, Ali remains one of the most impactful sportspeople of all time and stands as the first man ever to capture the heavyweight title on three separate occasions.
While he had secured gold at the Rome Olympics, when Ali first challenged the heavyweight title in February of 1964 he had yet to make a real impact on the professional scene and was expected to be little more than a routine defence for feared champion Sonny Liston.
Despite being a huge underdog, the challenger established an effective game plan early rounds, utilising his footwork and defence to largely nullify Liston's vaunted KO power.
Liston refused to get off his stool at the start of the seventh round and Ali was crowned champion just eight days after his 22nd birthday. One year later would go on to defeat Liston in the first-round of their rematch via the infamous 'phantom punch'.
2. Floyd Patterson - 21 years, 10 months, 26 days
Like Ali, Floyd Patterson first demonstrated his prodigious abilities inside the ring as an amateur, winning gold in the 1952 Olympics at middleweight just three years after first taking up the sport.
While he would fight the early part of his professional career at 175lbs, Patterson always harboured ambitions of stepping up to heavyweight to claim the most coveted title in the sport.
Shortly after Rocky Marciano relinquished his belt in 1956 Patterson would defeat Tommy Jackson in a title eliminator before facing off against Archie Moore for the vacant title later that year.
Patterson would score a fifth-round KO of the former light heavyweight king at the Chicago Stadium, breaking Jack Dempsey's record as the youngest man ever to win the heavyweight crown.
In doing so he also became the first Olympic champion ever to claim a professional heavyweight title.
1. Mike Tyson - 20 years, 4 months, 23 days
From the moment Mike Tyson first stepped into the ring as a teenager it was clear that he had an almost supernatural talent for boxing.
Standing a relatively diminutive 5ft 10in for a heavyweight, Tyson would develop a style under the tutelage of Cus D'Amato that allowed him to best utilise his speed and strength, particularly against larger opponents.
After winning gold at the 1984 National Golden Gloves tournament in his home state of New York Tyson would turn professional and quickly became regarded as possibly the greatest prospect the sport had ever seen.
Before his 20th birthday Tyson had compiled a perfect 23-0 record as a professional and he would get his shot at gold soon after, taking on Trevor Berbick for the WBC title in November 1986.
In just the second of 12 scheduled rounds, Tyson overwhelmed the man who had ended Muhammad Ali's career six years earlier, piling on the pressure and forcing Mills Lane to stop the fight.
Still eight months away from being able to legally drink alcohol in the United States, Tyson was now the heavyweight champion of the world, a feat that seems unlikely ever to be replicated.
