Light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud will return to the ring in December when he defends the IBF version of the title against hard-punching Fulgencio Zuniga.
Promoter Don King announced the fight on Wednesday, along with the main event between former Cuban Olympic gold medalist Odlanier Solis and Ray Austin in a WBC heavyweight eliminator. The winner of that fight will earn a mandatory shot at Vitali Klitschko.
The fights will take place Dec. 17 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
''This is going to be a great fight and a great event,'' Cloud said during a news conference Wednesday in Miami. ''I know Zuniga is a puncher, and I am taking him very seriously. After I'm done with him - which I will do - I've got some bigger fish to fry.''
Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs) has a sparkling record but has yet to face many of the top names in the 175-pound division, going long stretches without fighting. He's been in the ring only twice in the two-plus years since he stopped Julio Cesar Gonzalez.
Cloud is hoping a good performance will lead to a high-profile fight against Chad Dawson or the winner of Jean Pascal's title defense against Bernard Hopkins scheduled for Dec. 18.
''What I saw in him - and you will all see on Dec. 17 - is if you hit him, he hits you back harder,'' trainer Al Bonanni said of Cloud. ''He's aggressive, a real crowd-pleasing fighter.''
Cloud is coming off a narrow title defense against Glen Johnson in August, while Zuniga (24-4-1, 21 KOs) will be fighting at 175 pounds for the first time. Three of his four losses were in super middleweight title fights, and the other to former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.
The eliminator between Solis (16-0, 12 KOs) and Austin (28-4-4, 18 KOs) will provide the next mandatory challenger - or at least the next victim - for Klitschko's roughshod run through the heavyweight division.
''This match is the key we have been missing, the chance to fight for the heavyweight championship,'' said Solis, who defected from Cuba and now lives in Miami. ''It's been a long round (and) I will not let anyone down.''
Also on the card will be veteran WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones, undefeated interim welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin, and former welterweight and junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga, making his comeback at middleweight.
''I want people to believe in me again,'' said Mayorga, whose opponent has not been announced. ''I have a hunger to be world champion again. I expect to win on Dec. 17.''
