Wednesday 16 March 2016 18:02, UK
Tony Bellew will challenge for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title against Ilunga Makabu - and could do so at his beloved Goodison Park.
Bellew fell short in world title fights at light-heavyweight against Nathan Cleverly and Adonis Stevenson but has strung together six victories since moving up to 200lbs, avenging his defeat to Cleverly in the process.
The staunch Evertonian (26-2-1-KO16), who starred in Hollywood blockbuster Creed last year, has now landed a third opportunity and will go for gold in front of his fellow football fans if promoter Eddie Hearn has his way.
We have made no secret of our desire to stage this bout at Goodison to recreate the scenes of the recent Creed movie.
Hearn told Sky Sports: "We have made no secret of our desire to stage this bout at Goodison to recreate the scenes of the recent Creed movie - it's a fairytale story and the club are very keen to make it happen.
"I'm so pleased Tony gets to challenge for the title. I've been working for a while now to try and open something up but it's such a difficult division to get a break in, especially when the unification between Denis Lebedev and Victor Emilio Ramirez was announced.
"Makabu is without doubt one of the toughest fights in the division but Tony was willing to fight anyone to make his dream become reality."
Grigory Drozd was due to defend the WBC belt against mandatory challenger Makabu but withdrew with a serious injury and as a result the title became vacant.
Congo's Makabu (19-1-KO18) is undefeated since losing on his professional debut eight years ago but has not boxed since last May when he defeated Thabiso Mchunu.
