Ray Mercer was the perfect opponent: too old and stationary to win, too proud to quit.

That is why Mercer was selected by Universum, Wladimir Klitschko's notorious promoter, as an opponent for their young stud. Mercer figured to stand in front of Klitschko for as long as the referee would permit. That length of time turned out to be six rounds.

We all know that Wladimir can fight. After all, they don't just give out gold medals at the Olympics. Okay, maybe they occasionally do -- but they didn't in Wlad's case. He earned his gold by being the best amateur super heavyweight in the world.

And now, largely because he is a true super heavyweight in size, Klitschko has emerged as the No. 1 contender and only perceived threat to fellow giant heavyweight, the champion of the world, Lennox Lewis.

What we still don't know is whether Wladimir Klitschko can fight back. And that's the point. We learned nothing new about Klitschko from the Mercer fight, and what's more, we knew that we would learn nothing new about him going into the fight. Mercer was simply the biggest name with best reputation who posed the least amount of risk that Universum could find and that HBO would accept. Mercer made Klitschko look very good.

Of course, it can easily be argued that Klitschko does not need anyone's help looking good, that he does that all by himself. Certainly this 26-year-old offensive machine has the size and tools to pose a threat to any fighter in the world. It is also difficult to imagine him going through the rest of his professional career without ever being heavyweight champion of the world.

However, accepting that Klitschko's amateur career and offensive skills far outstrip the fighter I am about to mention, I still can't help but remember the last giant heavyweight dream that HBO tried to sell. His name is Michael Grant and he was lucky Ike Ibeabuchi landed in prison before he had the chance to pulverize Grant in the ring.

From the looks of Wlad's face at the end of the Mercer fight -- a fight in which Mercer threw almost nothing, and what he did throw were jabs -- Wlad also is lucky Ike is behind bars. Of course, were Ike out, there is no way Universum would let their charge anywhere near Ibeabuchi.

The example of Grant serves as a cautionary tale. When Ike put himself out of commission, Grant got the title shot at Lewis and was knocked cold in two rounds. Grant now looks finished as a top flight-heavyweight force. Great heavyweights cannot be created by the hype machine, they actually must exist. Ike will not be out of prison in the foreseeable future, and when he does get out, he will never be what he could have been. So Wlad is the most there is to get excited about right now, and he is exciting.

Although he has already lost one fight in his career, to journeyman Ross Purrity in a fight Klitschko was winning before he ran out of gas, Wladimir has blown out every other fighter he faced. Whether or not he beats Lennox Lewis, Klitschko will likely be heavyweight champion of the world in the not-too-distant future.

When that time comes it will not be difficult to market Klitschko as an affable Ivan Drago (the Russian heavy -- as in villain -- from Rocky IV). Wlad has a charming personality and should be a mainstream media hit, and that is always good for boxing. But the next dominant heavyweight champion? You cannot just wish a guy like that into existence, he must actually be out there. And no free man in the world currently fits that description.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.