Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will finally meet to crown an undisputed light-heavyweight world champion on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
The fight, which many fans consider the 'best in boxing', has been eagerly anticipated for several years, though few truly believed it would ever come to fruition.
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Beterbiev was first to become a true world champion when he knocked out Enrico Kolling to claim the IBF crown in 2018.
Bivol held the WBA 'regular' belt for a couple of years, then was upgraded to become the true WBA light-heavyweight world champion in 2019.
Not long after, Beterbiev stopped Oleksandr Gvozdyk to pick up the WBC title.
In 2022, Bivol won Fighter of the Year as he successfully defended his WBA strap against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, handing Canelo only the second defeat of his legendary career.
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That same year, Beterbiev blasted out Joe Smith Jr to add the WBO belt to his collection.
Fans have wanted to see a clash between Bivol and Beterbiev since 2017/2018, with the appetite intensifying significantly since they emerged as the two top champions in the division in 2022.
More recently, both men have defended their crown against the UK's top contenders.
Beterbiev knocked out both Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith, while Bivol outclassed Lyndon Arthur.
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And now, finally, after years of waiting, they have signed to fight each other next.
Despite circling for years, the Russians were never able to agree a deal to fight due to the fact they both understandably wanted big money for the career-defining clash.
Now, with the backing of H.E. Turki Alalshikh (chairman of the Saudi GEA who are staging big events in Riyadh) a deal has finally been done.
And it's an event that boxing fans can't wait for, with one saying:" Potential for fight of the year… love it."
Another said: "Boxing is back, finally."
While this fan said: "Easily the best fight in boxing, two brilliant fighters to be the best light heavyweight of their era. Cannot wait."
Bivol will be promoted by Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn who has guided his career so far, with the event set to headline the 5 v 5 tournament against Frank Warren's stable.
And he has issued some surprising criticism aimed at Bivol's upcoming rival Beterbiev, insisting he is not a fan of the unified light-heavyweight champion.
He said: “I don't really like him to be honest. I think he's arrogant.
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"Rightfully so because he's incredibly dangerous. But we're here to talk about the fight.
"I said Dmitry Bivol after the face-off, 'Let's f*** him up, take him to school.'"
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