Dillian Whyte vs Lucas Browne confirmed for March 24

Eddie Hearn's promotional stable Matchroom today confirmed that the highly anticipated grudge match between Dillian Whyte and Lucas Brown will take place at the O2 Arena, London on March 24th.

38-year-old veteran Brown boats an undefeated 25 fight professional boxing career so far, 22 of his 25 victories coming by knockout, a ratio of 88%.

"Big Daddy" Brown was last in action against Matthew Greener, a bout he won by second round knockout at Club Punchbowl, New South Wales, Australia last June.

Whyte has one loss in 23 fights with 16 of his 22 wins coming by way of knockout, a tidy 70% ratio.

The "Body Snatcher" is undefeated in six since defeat to current WBA "super" and IBF heavyweight Joshua in December 2015, and sits within touching distance of a shot at WBC king Deontay Wilder.

However, Whyte is risking his No 1 ranking with the governing body to end a bitter long-running dispute with the Australian.

The 29-year-old last faced Robert Helenius on the undercard of Joshua's fight against the frenchman Carlos Takam last October.

Following the unanimous decision victory against Helenius, Whyte will now headline the London show against Brown - as the Brit looks defend his WBC silver heavyweight title.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Whyte said:

"I can’t wait, I hate Lucas Browne and I want to hurt him. He’s said some nasty things and he’s going to have to pay for them."

"I don’t think he really wanted this fight. A deal was in place before then. He started to try and change the terms. He kept delaying things after we gave in to his demands and started saying there was a fight in America he was chasing.

"If I don’t knock him out, I will not be happy. The plan is to beat Browne and move closer to a world title shot.

"We’ve bent over backwards and up until now, he’s been more interested in making excuses than taking the fight. It’s been frustrating, but we’ve finally got over the hill now, so let’s go.

"He’s a big guy with an unbeaten record, so you have to rate him a bit. He carries some power. You have to respect heavyweight power, it only takes one punch.

"I’m not overlooking Browne, I’m focused on going to town on him. If I don’t knock him out, I will not be happy. The plan is to beat Browne and move closer to a world title shot.

"Beating him should make me a mandatory challenger for a world title. I’m highly ranked across the board. I’ll be a more than credible world title challenger. I’ve been building my way up, so we’re set for a big year.”