Anthony Joshua will take on Joseph Parker at Cardiff’s Principality stadium on March 31.
Joshua, who is looking to unify the heavyweight division, would add the WBO title to his WBA and IBF straps with victory over the New Zealander.
Negotiations have been on-going since Joshua’s less-than-impressive TKO win over 37-year-old Carlos Takam back in October.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Joshua said: “I like to fight, that’s the main objective, and it’s showing I’m never shy of a competition.
WBO champ: Joseph Parker
“He’s a respectable competitor, he is the WBO heavyweight champion of the world, so it’s like one step closer to adding a strap to my legacy, that’s what makes it exciting.”
Speaking after AJ’s victory over Takam, Parker said of the British fighter: “I’ve said it many times: I’d love to fight Joshua so I can show what I’ve got. He’s good – he’s big, strong and learning, but I think he’s just average, he’s robotic. The jab he was throwing was very slow. He steps up all the time but I don’t think he looked that impressive. There wasn’t a lot of movement.
WBO champion Joseph Parker said he was relieved the contractual negotiations had now been concluded as he could now fully concentrate on the job in hand.
“Anthony Joshua is in for a huge shock,” Parker said. “A couple of months ago I heard him say, ask why he should be worried about this little kid from New Zealand? Well, now he’s about to find out. And the world is about to find out whether AJ can really take a punch. My entire existence is now devoted to proving what the boxing world already knows.”
The announcement comes just days after Tyson Fury called out Joshua, insisting he wanted his first fight back in the ring to be against the current champion.