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Organizers are close to finalizing a deal for Adrien Broner’s first defense of his junior welterweight title to take place at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C., a source told RingTV.com on Friday. The bout against Ashley Theophane will headline a PBC on Spike TV broadcast on April 1.

“The fight is going to take place there but it’s just a matter of ironing out some final little things,” the source said. The bout will mark Broner’s first fight since he stopped Khabib Allakhverdiev in the 12^th round to win the vacant WBA “regular” junior welterweight title last October; that title was upgraded to “super” status when Danny Garica vacated. And it gives the 26-year-old Broner (31-2, 23 knockouts) another chance to further distance himself from his lackluster loss to Shawn Porter last June.

For the 35-year-old Theophane (39-6-1, 11 KOs), the bout with the four-division champion Broner represents another step up in class and a date with a marquee fighter after he lost a split decision to Garcia in 2010. As an added sub-plot, Theophane is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, whose namesake, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is regarded as a mentor/big brother-type to Broner, THE RING’s fifth-ranked junior welterweight.

The DC Armory will now have two high-profile boxing cards in less than a month. The venue also hosts an HBO card on March 5 featuring heavyweights Luis Ortiz and Tony Thompson with a co-feature pitting Sadam Ali vs. Jessie Vargas for the vacant WBO welterweight title.