Austin Trout will end an eight-month ring absence with a junior middleweight bout against aging former title challenger Daniel Dawson on Aug. 22 at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif., promoter Dan Goossen announced on Thursday.

The bout will be televised on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN.

“We’re very excited to bring this outstanding main event battle between Austin Trout and Daniel Dawson to the beautiful Pechanga Resort and Casino,” Goossen stated in a press release.

“Pechanga has been one of the premier resorts and casino in California for many years and it’s nice to bring a world-class event back to their great fans and our worldwide ESPN audience.”

Trout (26-2, 14 knockouts) was last in action when he was dropped in the 11th round of a unanimous decision loss to Erislandy Lara last December. Trout had also been floored in the seventh round of his previous fight, a unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez last April.

“Between the rest, dealing with everything from last year,” Trout said the press release. “I’m ready to get back to work. I’m ready to get back to the top.”

Prior to facing Alvarez and Lara, Trout scored a career-high unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto in December 2012 at Madison Square Garden.

An Australian who will be making only his second appearance on American soil, Dawson (40-3-1, 26 KOs) is 6-0-1, with two knockouts since falling in two consecutive losses to former WBO titleholder Sergei Dzinziruk by 10th-round stoppage in May 2010 and by unanimous decision to Frank LoPorto in October 2010.

Dawson, who turns 36 in October, also lost by unanimous decision to former titleholder Daniel Geale in December 2007, after which he won five consecutive fights, four of them by knockout.

“It’s an opportunity that I’ve worked very, very hard to get back to,” said Dawson, who is coming off September’s unanimous decision over Alex Bunema. “I believe we can take this victory back home to Australia.”