Negotiations have been painstaking and prolonged but, finally, the heavyweight unification fight between IBF and WBA titleholder Anthony Joshua and WBO counterpart Joseph Parker has been confirmed for March 31 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The news was broken by Joshua via his official Twitter account:

“Good morning, everyone. I hope you’re well. I wish you all a happy year.

“I’d like to announce the official news that myself and Joseph Parker will be fighting March 31st and the location will be Cardiff, Wales. It’s a unification heavyweight championship fight. We all know what happened last time I was in a unification championship fight (TKO11 Wladimir Klitschko). It was grueling, it was interesting and we both left the ring with masses of respect.

“These fights aren’t easy, ‘cos there’s a lot on the line, so respect to Team Parker for taking the challenge and you know me – I love this game. I’m looking forward to it. Training camp is underway and before you know it, March 31st will be upon us. Stay tuned for more news and I’ll see you all soon. God Bless!”

Joshua (20-0, 20 knockouts) is coming off a 10th-round stoppage of late replacement Carlos Takam in October, while Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) was less than impressive in a 12-round majority decision win over another British opponent, Hughie Fury, in September.

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for THE RING. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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