Heavyweight contenders Aleksandr Povetkin and Ruslan Chagaev will meet for the vacant WBA title on August 27 in the German town of Erfurt.
The news might confuse some boxing fans, as champion Wladimir Klitschko won the WBA’s title to unify it with his two other sanctioning organization belts July 2, after beating David Haye.
But as often happens, the WBA created a second title in the weight class in order to keep the sanctioning fees rolling in.
Povetkin (21-0, 15 KOs), who was a mandatory challenger for Klitschko for about two years, ultimately declined to fight him in September following an alleged contract dispute
The Russian held his last fight in December last year, beating Nicolay Firtha of the US on points, despite damaging his hand in the process.
“I am really looking forward to the fight,” said Povetkin.
The 31-year-old said he would have liked to fight for a title sooner, but his career was sidetracked by the death of his father last year.
Former WBA title holder Chagaev (29 wins, 17 Kos, 1 loss and 1 draw) defeated another American Travis Walker by a refereeing decision in November 2010.
Both fighters had great amateur and professional careers, having previously won world amateur champs. Povetkin even claimed the Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004, while Chagaev has already been World Champion as a professional.