Britain's IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will defend his title against Eric Molina in Manchester on 10 December.
Joshua, unbeaten in 17 fights, was close to agreeing a bout with Wladimir Klitschko but the deal fell through.
Promoter Eddie Hearn blamed confusion over whether the WBA title vacated by Tyson Fury would be on the line.
American Molina, 34, lost his only previous world title shot against WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in 2015.
Joshua, 27, defended his IBF heavyweight title for the first time with a seventh-round knockout of Dominic Breazeale in London in June.
"I'm expecting this to be the toughest fight of my career so far and I will be ready for an all-out war," he said.
"I saw Molina have a great fight with Wilder and he is now coming off a strong knockout win against Tomasz Adamek in Poland."
Former world champion Klitschko has said he wants to fight Joshua in "March or April".
The planned December bout fell through because the fighters "ran out of time", the Ukrainian's manager Bernd Boente has said.
The WBA is yet to state whether its vacant title would be on the line.
Fury has vacated the WBA and WBO titles he won by beating Klitschko in November 2015 to deal with his "medical treatment and recovery".
The Briton, 28, has admitted taking cocaine to deal with depression.
Joshua won the IBF belt by beating Charles Martin in April, a few months after Fury was stripped of the title for choosing to face Klitschko in a rematch over the IBF's mandatory challenger.
Two attempts to stage a rematch collapsed because Fury suffered an ankle injury and was then declared "medically unfit".
Article courtesy of BBC
Joshua, unbeaten in 17 fights, was close to agreeing a bout with Wladimir Klitschko but the deal fell through.
Promoter Eddie Hearn blamed confusion over whether the WBA title vacated by Tyson Fury would be on the line.
American Molina, 34, lost his only previous world title shot against WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in 2015.
Joshua, 27, defended his IBF heavyweight title for the first time with a seventh-round knockout of Dominic Breazeale in London in June.
"I'm expecting this to be the toughest fight of my career so far and I will be ready for an all-out war," he said.
"I saw Molina have a great fight with Wilder and he is now coming off a strong knockout win against Tomasz Adamek in Poland."
Former world champion Klitschko has said he wants to fight Joshua in "March or April".
The planned December bout fell through because the fighters "ran out of time", the Ukrainian's manager Bernd Boente has said.
The WBA is yet to state whether its vacant title would be on the line.
Fury has vacated the WBA and WBO titles he won by beating Klitschko in November 2015 to deal with his "medical treatment and recovery".
The Briton, 28, has admitted taking cocaine to deal with depression.
Joshua won the IBF belt by beating Charles Martin in April, a few months after Fury was stripped of the title for choosing to face Klitschko in a rematch over the IBF's mandatory challenger.
Two attempts to stage a rematch collapsed because Fury suffered an ankle injury and was then declared "medically unfit".
Article courtesy of BBC
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