“The WBA is committed to Kali Meehan fighting for their interim heavyweight championship and for the winner of this match to become mandatory challenger for their most prestigious crown, the WBA heavyweight championship,” he said.

The winner will face the victor of the upcoming battle between Britain’s newly crowned WBA champ David Haye and American WBA mandatory challenger John Ruiz.

Meehan has patiently waited for the world-title shot after earning the WBA No.1 challenger position in October 2007 with a sixth-round TKO of DaVarryl Williamson in New York.

The WBA ordered Meehan fight Uzbekistan’s former world champ Chagaev after the matter was raised at the organisation’s recent annual convention.

Meehan, 39, has won his last six fights in devastating style and in 2004 came within a point of claiming the World Boxing Organisation title after losing a controversial split decision to American Lamon Brewster.