Yuri Foreman is being lined up to fight Irishman John Duddy at Madison Square Garden when he recovers from his recent knee surgery.
It is a make-or-break fight for the world title aspirations of Foreman and Duddy, who are both based in New York.
Foreman lost his WBA light-middleweight world title to Miguel Cotto on June 5 while Belfast-born Duddy was clearly outpointed by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr - son of the Mexican legend of the same name - at the San Antonio Alamodome last weekend.
Foreman's recovery will take six months but promoter Bob Arum said: "When Duddy recovers and as soon as Yuri's knee heals, we're going to sell out Madison Square Garden next year."