Eddie Hearn has claimed that Devin Haney will return to the ring in December.
The WBC lightweight champion has struggled to find opponents willing to take him on, with one mandatory and then the next - Ryan Garcia and JoJo Diaz - reluctant to face the 22-year-old American.
Haney last fought in May, beating Jorge Linares, and the WBC have now ordered Garcia and Diaz to fight in order to earn the mandatory designation.
Speaking to Pro Boxing Fans, the Matchroom chief was not able to confirm the name of the opponent.
“He’ll be fighting in December,” Hearn said.
“We’re just trying to finalize his opponent at the moment. He wants a real fight, difficult. He wants to fight Ryan Garcia now, he wanted to fight Jo Jo Diaz. Neither of those guys will fight him. There’s some other guys we’re looking at.”
Hearn also confirmed that Conor Benn would be back in action in December, with the welterweight aiming to keep his momentum after beating Adrian Granados in September.
Josesito Lopez is an option, with Hearn saying: “We’re talking to Josesito Lopez’s team, which is a really good fight.
“I quite like the Chris Algieri fight. Chris van Heerden has been discussed and others as well.”