Bermane Stiverne catching Chris Arreola (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

By Chris Robinson

This weekend in Las Vegas, amidst the festivities of the Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander matchup from the MGM Grand, it was officially announced that the highly-anticipated heavyweight title fight between WBC champion Bermae Stiverne and top contender Deontay Wilder will be taking place.

The match will take place on Jan. 17 on Showtime in what figures to be an intriguing showdown between two legitimate power punchers.

Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KO’s) is coming off of a 6th round TKO over Chris Arreola while Wilder (32-0, 32 KO’s) last saw action in the ring on Aug. 16 when he stopped Jason Gavern after four rounds on the Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook undercard from Carson, Calif.

Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions will co-promote the match, which will see WBC junior featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16 KO’s)  appear on the televised co-feature.

*** Stay tuned for more coverage from Stiverne’s camp in Las Vegas and check out some comments from the champion’s promoter Don King about the clash.

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com