MICHAEL Conlan's bid to claim the IBF featherweight title on May 27 at the SSE Arena is expected to be confirmed within days with BT Sport and ESPN providing live television coverage on either side of the Atlantic.
The Belfast man will challenge Luis Alberto Lopez who won the belt on December 10 against Josh Warrington, the same night Conlan blitzed Karim Guerfi in one round at he Odyssey.
Lopez holds a record of 27-2 including a 10-fight winning run since his last defeat in May 20 when dropping a decision against Ruben Villa and will be full of confidence following his deserved victory over Warrington in Leeds before Christmas.
Conlan is back in a title fight having disposed of Guerfi and previously, Miguel Marriaga, following his heartbreaking loss to Leigh Wood in Nottingham last March.
He was ahead on all three cards going into the final round having dropped the defending champion in the opening round, but ran out of gas down the stretch and was knocked out of the ring with 90 seconds remaining.
Those bounceback victories appear to have proven he has put his sole professional defeat behind him and will be confident he can get the job done on this occasion.
Lopez took the title from Josh Warrington in December 
It promises to be a huge night for fight fans in the city as chief support is expected to be a WBA super-middleweight eliminator between Padraig McCrory and Yamaguchi Falcao.
McCrory picked up the IBO light-heavyweight title last year against Leon Bunn in Germany, but has since vacated the belt in order to return to the 12-stone division and the 34-year-old power puncher will face the slick Brazilian southpaw who is one year his senior.
Falcao won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London and has had a decent pro career, building a record of 24-1-1 - the defeat and draw coming in consecutive bouts in 2019 - winning his last eight and picking up Latino titles along the way.
The WBA's 'Super' champion is none other than Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez with Cuba's David Morrell holding the 'regular' version, so the winner of McCrory-Falcao will be in the frame for a huge opportunity.
Also expected to be announced for the May 27 card is IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace, while a number of other local stars will get their chance to shine on the night.
