The rematch between Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte will take place on November 21, Eddie Hearn has announced.

The fight that will be screened on Sky Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the United States was the headliner from four shows that Hearn announced would by on Sky in the UK.

They also feature Joshua Buatsi taking on unbeaten Croatian Marko Calic on October 4 (a Sunday) and Lewis Ritson’s delayed fight with former world champion Miguel Vazquez, which will now be on October 17.

Both shows will feature women’s world title fights on the undercard. On October 4, Chantelle Cameron faces Adriana Dos Santos Araujo, of Brazil, for the vacant WBC super-lightweight title. On the October 17 show, Savannah Marshall, who beat Claressa Shields on the way to winning a world amateur title in 2012, faces Hannah Rankin for the vacant WBO middleweight title.

Hearn also confirmed that Sky will screen the September 26 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final between Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos.

Povetkin twice got off the floor to knock Whyte out with a stunning left uppercut to claim his interim WBC heavyweight title on the final night of Eddie Hearn’s Fight Camp last month. 

There was a rematch clause in the fight contract, so a return was always likely, although with a backlog of big heavyweight fights – including Anthony Joshua v Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk v Dereck Chisora – plus uncertainty surrounding the return of live crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seemed unlikely that there would be room in the diary this year.

No venue was announced, but he said he wanted to stage the fight at either the Royal Albert Hall or Wembley Arena in London.

“Those are tow places we are looking at subject to fans returning,” Hearn said. “With or without fans that takes place on November 21.

Hearn said that Whyte could not afford another defeat to Povetkin.

“If he wants to fight for a world title, absolutely everything is on the line in this fight,” Hearn said. “Everything is on the line for his career on November 21.

“It was a big shock, especially as he was seen to be controlling the fight and it was a brutal, brutal knockout that was seen around the world. From the moment he found his way back to the changing room to the moment he saw me, all he could talk about was the rematch.

“He has had three or four weeks to rest up, it is nine weeks this Saturday. So he won’t be starting full camp for another week or so, but he is so hungry to win. Many people think he is foolish taking the rematch so early, but he believes he should have won that fight, he wants the chance to avenge that fight and he wants the chance to do it quickly.

“Alexander Povetkin said ‘I’m all in, I knocked you out once, I will do it again’.”

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for Boxing Scene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.