WBC heavyweight king Vitali Klitschko has confirmed he will defend his title against American Shannon Briggs on 16 October in Hamburg, Germany, according to BBC.
The fight effectively ends the hopes of Britain`s WBA champion David Haye of facing Ukrainian Klitschko in 2010.
"Briggs has great experience, has fought significantly more fights than I have and is one of the hardest punchers in the division," said Klitschko.
Klitschko, 39, is 40-2, while 38-year-old Briggs is 51-5 with one draw.
For the Ukrainian it will be the fifth time he has defended his title since beating Samuel Peter in October 2008 to regain the WBC crown, having temporarily retired in 2004.
Klitschko had wanted to face Russian giant Nikolay Valuev in his 13th world title fight but the bout fell through.
The WBC champion`s most recent win was over Poland`s Albert Sosnowski in May 2010, while New Yorker Briggs`s most recent bout was a victory over Rob Calloway in May.
Klitschko`s brother Wladimir will defend his IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles against Nigeria`s Peter in Frankfurt on 11 September.
