The two British heavyweights will do battle in an eight-rounder on March 3 as part of the undercard to Jamie McDonnell's defence of his European bantamweight title against Malik Bouziane.

"I wanted to fight a real opponent and not a Latvian lemon, so it is great to be taking on such a high profile fighter."
Tom Dallas Quotes of the week

Skelton - who lost to Ruslan Chagaev on points when challenging for the WBA title back in 2008 - has not fought since being beaten by Michael Sprott in the final of the Prizefighter tournament over a year ago.

However he is now looking forward to getting involved again in a crowded domestic scene that also includes the likes of David Price and Tyson Fury.

"Britain has the best crop of young heavyweights in the world at the moment and I can't wait to get back in the mix and start on the likes of Price and Fury," Skelton said.

Short notice

Dallas (12-1) lost to Liverpudlian Price last time out, albeit after taking the bout at very short notice.

He told www.frankmaloney.com: "I am not making any excuses, David beat me fair and square but I took the fight at short notice. This time I will have time to train to beat Skelton and hopefully get another crack at 'Pricey' later on down the line.

"Many heavyweights have a loss on their record, it's how you come back.

"I wanted to fight a real opponent and not a Latvian lemon, so it is great to be taking on such a high profile fighter."