By Luke Furman
It was officially announced earlier today that WBC light heavyweight world champion Adonis Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs) would defend his title against two-division champion Badou Jack (22-1-2, 13 KOs) in a Showtime televised fight.
The date of May 19 has been finalized, but the venue has yet to be determined. The fight will take place in Quebec, Canada.
The Videotron Center in Quebec City was being targeted to host the fight, but the venue has a Professional Riding Bull event scheduled for May 18th and 19th.
Promoter Yvon Michel, who handles Stevenson, is working on the venue.
"I only confirmed this date a few days ago, so I can not confirm the location for now, besides saying it will be in Quebec," said Michel to the Montreal Journal.
Stevenson will attempt to make a ninth consecutive defense of his title acquired in 2013. His last mandatory defense dates back to November of the same year, when he faced Tony Bellew in Quebec City.
Jack, the former World Boxing Association champion, renounced his title instead of going against his mandatory opponent, Dmitry Bivol, who is now the current WBA champion.
As part of the card, light heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs) will appear in the co-feature against an opponent to be determined.
Alvarez became the mandatory challenger for Stevenson by defeating Isaac Chilemba on November 28, 2015. He has won four bouts since - including clashes with Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal - agreeing to give up his position on two occasions so that Stevenson could have optional defenses against Thomas Williams and Andrejz Fonfara.
According to Michel, promoter of Alvarez and Stevenson, they will eventually cross paths.
"What I can say right now is that the deal I have with Eleider guarantees him a world championship fight in 2018," Michel added.
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.