Australian Jeff Horn's dream fight with Manny Pacquiao will take place on July 2 at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, the Filipino boxing great's camp says.
But the bout's Australian organisers, burnt by Pacquiao backing out of their original agreement for an April fight, won't make an official announcement until all parties are contractually bound.
Pacquiao's advisor Michael Koncz said Horn would step in after their pursuit of a big-money bout with Brit Amir Khan in the Middle East failed.
"We're not able to fight Amir Khan because of Ramadan, so we decided to take this fight in the interim," Koncz told Fox Sports.
Koncz revealed Horn's low profile counted against him in sealing what would be the biggest fight in Australian boxing history, leading to two months of confusion and frustration as the patient Queenslander waited for a decision from his opponent.
Koncz and Pacquiao's fans preferred him to fight Khan, with that prospect on the table for October or November.
It means Horn will be fighting for more than just the WBO welterweight title, with a chance to become a household name by upsetting Pacquiao.
"We signed it, so yeah, we're excited about it. But again, my preference was to fight Amir Khan," Koncz said.
"That didn't work out. We had this on the table so we decided to take it.
"Manny will train and do the best he can and hopefully we get the fight over with very quickly, we get out of there, we say hi to the Australian fans and media and come home.
"Frankly and honestly, and nothing against Jeff Horn - I've never met the kid, I don't know him personally - but the name recognition is I guess why the fans picked Amir Khan."
The consortium backing the fight, including the Queensland government, Brisbane city council and Suncorp Stadium, as well as promoters Duco Events and Top Rank Boxing, has opted to hold off on confirmation.
"Until (the) process is completed, where all parties are contractually bound, there is no event to be announced," Duco said in a statement on Thursday.
"Media speculation has seen a lot of expectations created, and then dashed in months gone by with this event."
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