Dillian Whyte will face Joseph Parker, the former World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion, at the O2 Arena in London on July 28 in another mouth-watering heavyweight clash on British shores. The fight is set to be announced in London today by promoter Eddie Hearn.
As the Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder talks continue, the Whyte-Parker fight represents the most significant match-up outside the division's two world title holders.
New Zealander Parker lost his WBO crown to Anthony Joshua, now holder of three of the world heavyweight titles, in Cardiff in a blockbuster unification contest in March attended by 80,000 fans at the Principality Stadium. The British fighter outpointed the visitor in an intriguing, cagey fight which failed to ignite as the referee refused to allow the two men to engage in any in-fighting at close quarters.
Parker had insisted that he would learn from the defeat and come back stronger, and returns for a third successive contest in the UK. The 26-year-old, who holds a record of 24-1, with 18 knockouts, had also defended his WBO crown against Hughie Fury in Manchester in September 2017.
Whyte, meanwhile, has been showing great improvements and is on a strong run since that defeat to Joshua in 2015, a night where he had his fellow British foe in trouble early on.
Whyte's popularity has grown, especially after a 12-round war with Dereck Chisora in December 2016. The 30-year-old, with a record of 23-1 and 17 knockouts, underlined his current seven-fight winning streak in March with a composed victory over Australian Lucas Browne, complete with a chilling knockout finish, and looks to be improving with every performance under Mark Tibbs.
Parker and Whyte will intrigue and excite given their styles. The victor of the Whyte-Parker match-up will, moreover, move themselves into pole position to challenge Joshua or Wilder, with Whyte ranked as the No 1 WBC challenger, No 3 with the WBO and No 4 with the IBF and seventh by the WBA sanctioning body.
Parker sits at No 5 with the WBO and No 6 with the WBC. The heavyweight division's chess pieces continue to move into battle positions and with former world No 1 Tyson Fury making his comeback in Manchester on Saturday after 1,000 days away from the ring, the blue riband weight class will provide a series of major fights in the next 18 months.