American Deontay Wilder has officially exercised his right to an immediate heavyweight rematch with Tyson Fury.
'The Bronze Bomber' lost the WBC heavyweight title to Fury in Las Vegas last month, via a seventh-round knockout - the first loss of Wilder's 44-fight career.
According to ESPN, Bob Arum - Fury's co-promoter - has confirmed the fight will take place at the MGM Grand on July 18 (NZ time) - the same venue that housed the first rematch on February 22.
The two fought out a controversial split draw in 2018, where Fury was knocked down twice and failed to earn the nod from the judges, despite dominating for long periods.
In the much-hyped sequel, Fury dominated the 34-year-old, knocking him down twice, before Wilder's co-trainer, Mark Breland, threw in the towel in round seven.
Both fighters agreed to an optional rematch clause in the contract, which Wilder and his team have taken up.
"We realised that date was the favourite of both ESPN and Fox, because it comes at a dead time in sports, which is good for the fight," Arum told ESPN.
"It's after the [NBA] basketball playoffs, [Major League] baseball is in the middle of the season and there's no [NFL] football. It's the ideal time.
"The hotel, MGM Grand, also believes it to be an ideal time."
Meanwhile, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed Anthony Joshua will defend the IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Kubrat Pulev on June 21 (NZ time) at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Should 'AJ' get past the durable Bulgarian, Hearn wants Joshua v Fury in December, which could open the door for Kiwi Joseph Parker to fight for a vacated WBO title.
"What's due is the Kubrat Pulev mandatory in June, and then the Oleksandr Usyk mandatory in November or December," said Hearn.
"Oleksandr Usyk is fighting Dereck Chisora in May and anything can happen in that fight.
"And if AJ vacates that WBO title - and he may have to in order to fight Tyson Fury - it'll be Usyk against Joseph Parker for the belt, which is a great fight," said Hearn.
