The world heavyweight championship belts have spent much of the past decade out of American clutches as the Klitschko brothers reigned with iron fists from the area once known as the Iron Curtain.
Vitali and Wladimir's descent from the pinnacle of the mountain, while not caused by their American rivals, has coincided with a new generation of world heavyweight champions from the United States. The latest title-holder, IBF champion Charles Martin, will now bring his belt to London on April 9 as he tries to conquer Anthony Joshua.
Sky Sports have remembered recent heavyweight champions who fought for the Star-Spangled Banner and discovered that Martin isn't alone with the opportunism of his recent title win.
Chris Byrd (41-5-1 KO22)
Remembering the manner of Byrd's notorious first world championship victory is a haunting reminder for current IBF champion Martin of what could lie ahead. The similarities between Byrd's win over Vitali Klitschko and Martin's recent humbling of Vyacheslav Glazkov are chilling - America's latest heavyweight champion will see his predecessor became a two-time title-holder but also suffered brutal knockouts.
In 2000, Byrd gamely accepted a call-up on 10 days' notice to challenge the elder Klitschko, who had not been beaten in 27 fights. The Ukrainian out-boxed the 31-1 Byrd for nine rounds before inexplicably being unable to return for the 10th, citing a crippling shoulder injury. Having been beaten to the punch for 27 minutes, Byrd left as WBO champion. Similar fortune led to Martin's IBF win in December as Glazkov went down with knee ligament damage in the third round, although the American had led the dance until that point.
Byrd's WBO reign was brief and forgettable, aside from him becoming the victim of the Klitschko's brotherly love when he faced the younger sibling Wladimir in his next fight. Avenging Vitali's loss, Wladimir thumped Byrd around the ring for 12 rounds to win a decision and the WBO belt. One of the most fortuitous world title reigns was over before it began, a fate that Martin will be acutely aware of when he stands opposite Joshua in April.
Byrd, to his credit, was nothing if not opportunistic. A credible win over David Tua led to an IBF title shot against the great Evander Holyfield, who, at 40, was 12 years senior to Byrd. Holyfield, 38-5-2 at the time, couldn't keep pace and the southpaw Byrd kept his distance to win a one-sided decision and his second world title. Four defences followed for Byrd, but the belt was never tightly strapped around his waist. He battled to one draw and climbed off the canvas against Jameel McCline. Eventually, his old foe Wladimir pummelled him to take the IBF belt and Byrd retired seven years ago after stoppage losses to Alexander Povetkin and Shaun George.
Hasim Rahman (50-9-2 KO41)
Like Byrd 12 months previously and Martin over a decade later, Rahman had Lady Luck smiling down upon him when he reached the top of the heavyweight mountain. But there's something about these American heavyweights that enable them to defy expectation one way or another.
Maryland's Rahman was a 20-1 underdog when he challenged England's Lennox Lewis in 2001 with WBC and IBF gold at stake. Lewis had lost once before, to Oliver McCall, but a subsequent win over Holyfield suggested that was an anomaly. He was expected to have no problem in South Africa against Rahman and was enjoying a stint in Hollywood - Lewis filmed Ocean's 11 in the build-up to the fight while his unheralded opponent adjusted to the high altitude of the African location.
Lewis was heavier than ever, and never got up after a fifth-round right hand from Rahman that caused one of the biggest upsets of the modern era. Later that year, Lewis thrashed Rahman inside four rounds in a Las Vegas rematch to right the wrongs, but the American underdog's place in history was already secured.
Rahman remained in title contention but lost to Holyfield, drew with Tua then lost to John Ruiz. Vitali Klitschko cancelled on him three times but, as WBC mandatory contender, he was named champion when the Ukrainian retired. How do these American heavyweights do it? His reign, like Byrd's, looked vulnerable from the start and he drew with compatriot James Toney before losing the belt to Oleg Maskaev.
Shannon Briggs (59-6-1 KO52)
'The Canon' was another American who positioned himself intelligently at the cusp of a heavyweight scene when, perhaps elsewhere, there were fighters capable of proving he never belonged. Briggs has the distinction of being the victor in the legendary George Foreman's last ever fight - Foreman was 48 and the fight's scoring has been heavily disputed ever since.
New York's Briggs became lineal champion with that result, but in 1998, he had that title ripped away in a shellacking by Lewis. Almost a decade went by quietly with Briggs competing multiple times per year, frequently against mediocre opposition, in the period where the Klitschkos truly dragged the heavyweight emphasis over to the European scene. Briggs went about his work and, with the WBO title floating around outside of the Klitschko's grasp as Vitali handed the baton to Wladimir in 2006, he earned a crack.
His finest moment came against Siarhei Liakhovich 10 years ago in a fight that raised more questions about the standard of American heavyweights than answers. Briggs, in the final rounds, sent the Belarussian crashing out through the ropes and on to a ringside table. His reign lasted less than a year, as Briggs was outpointed by Sultan Ibragimov.
A larger-than-life personality saw Briggs get the nod to travel to Germany to challenge for Vitali's WBC title in 2010. His showmanship was no help inside the ropes and Vitali showed him up as a pretender to the great American champions of eras gone by. Briggs, now aged 44, is still active but his "let's go, champ" routine is wearing thinner with the emergence of genuine American threats like Martin.
Deontay Wilder (36-0 KO35)
A year ago, a lean and athletic champion finally emerged with the red, white and blue draped around him sporting all the ingredients of iconic American heavyweights. Wilder was knocking people out, was cockily assuring the world of his own greatness before it had become apparent, and was rocking a tuxedo in post-fight press conferences. Now that's more like it.
Wilder, the current WBC champion, is not a fighter without flaws but possesses the ability to pull the trigger in either fist to leave more technical opponents reeling. Nobody is suggesting that Wilder is a reincarnation of Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson in terms of skill or worldwide influence, but is the legitimate heavyweight champion that America has craved for a generation.
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics before wrecking a path in the professional ranks in an identical manner to Joshua's earliest work. Wilder, last January, became the first American heavyweight champion in eight years when he showed a different side to his game and outpointed Bermane Stiverne. The 30-year-old has defended it three times since.
Alabama's Wilder never got the opportunity to cause the downfall of Wladimir after Tyson Fury beat him to it. Fury, the WBA 'Super' and WBO champion, is a similarly up-and-coming title-holder, making their collision course a fascinating one. There is every possibility that, for the first time in memory, the United States possesses the best heavyweight in the world.
Charles Martin (23-0-1 KO21)
'Prince Charles' will be getting in a heavyweight fist-fight in London in a couple of months. The Missouri man has only been a world champion for less than a month but is being thrown into the lion's den by travelling into enemy ground to defend IBF gold against Joshua.
Martin's story, at this point, could go the way of Byrd and Rahman, or it could follow more illustrious champions from the States. Having won the title due to his opponent's injury there is plenty for Martin to prove, but so often, prize-fighters do their best work when doubt surround them.
It is possible that Joshua's camp see him as a sitting duck, a paper champion who has profited from Fury getting stripped and Glazkov getting injured. The 29-year-old Martin, like Joshua, has never been beaten and comes from a nation that has produced men who are woven into the tapestry of heavyweight boxing. On April 9 we will find out more about which level of American heavyweight Martin can replicate.