Dillian Whyte vs Joseph Parker set for July 28

In something of a surprise today in London, Matchroom Boxing has announced that Dillian Whyte will face Joseph Parker on July 28 at the O2 Arena, airing live on Sky Box Office in the United Kingdom.

U.S. TV has not been announced yet, but we should probably expect someone to pick it up in some form, because it’s a pretty big fight in the heavyweight division.

Whyte (23-1, 17 KO) recently went through a purse bid process for an eliminator with Kubrat Pulev, but when neither fighter’s promoter won the bid, it was up in the air whether or not it would actually take place, especially with Whyte getting just 25% of the cut to potentially travel to Bulgaria for the bout.

Instead, he’ll face Parker (24-1, 18 KO) in more friendly confines, and arguably in a bigger fight. Parker was recently negotiating for a fight with Bryant Jennings.

Parker is coming off of a March 31 loss to Anthony Joshua, where he dropped the WBO heavyweight title. Whyte has won seven straight since his 2015 loss to Joshua, most recently knocking out Lucas Browne on March 24.

“There’s going to be blood, pain and a knockout,” said Whyte. “I’m bang up for this. He’s a good fighter but he didn’t show much courage against Joshua. I want him to be more adventurous and not go on the run, but he knows that if he has a fight against me, he’s getting knocked out clean and in a brutal way.”

“We’ve both been in with AJ. One of us ended the fight on our feet, the other didn’t. That pretty much speaks for itself,” said Parker. “I’m really looking forward to fighting Dillian. He’s got a big mouth and says some funny things — and he’s also highly entertaining in the ring. It’ll be an incredible fight. There’s no doubt about that.”