By Shaun Brown
Stephen Smith (25-3, 15 KOs) will face Spain's Juli Giner (21-2, 8 KOs) for the vacant European Super Featherweight title on December 17.
The fight is the first to be added to the undercard of the Tony Bellew-David Haye rematch at London's O2 Arena to be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Giner and his manager confirmed the news last night in Hartlepool as Giner's compatriot Abigail Medina successfully defended his European Super Bantamweight title against Martin Ward with a second round stoppage.
Giner, nicknamed 'The Rock' will fight in the U.K for the first time when he faces 'Swifty' Smith. The 34-year-old last fought in April winning via disqualification over eight rounds against Kakha Avetisiani, and his most recent fight over the scheduled 12-round distance came in April 2016 against Miguel Roman, losing via an 8th round stoppage.
Smith, a former two-time world title challenger at 130lbs, will fight for the European crown for the first time in his career. The former British and Commonwealth Featherweight champion will have just his second outing of 2017 when he returns to the ring on December 17. A one-round blowout of Karol Gallovich in Germany in June his only activity so far this year.
A win for Smith could put him in line for another world title shot in 2018 having lost to Jose Pedraza and Jason Sosa for the IBF and WBA versions respectively.