The Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council are in the final stages of securing a two-fight deal for world welterweight champion Jeff Horn, who is set to defend his title against British boxer Gary Corcoran on December 13.
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Horn is expected to earn almost $1 million from the fight against Corcoran, who has been nicknamed "Hellraiser", which is on-track to be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Bank.
A crowd of 7000 to 8000 people are expected to watch the fight live and tickets should be on sale within two weeks, with prices starting at $39.
"After Jeff became world champion in July, I was determined to lock in a deal that would see him defend his championship belt right here in Brisbane and I'm delighted to say that is looking like becoming a reality," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Horn said he was excited ahead of his title defence in his hometown.
"It's going to be a very entertaining fight. Gary comes to fight, he is a 'walk forward' kind of fighter and I think, for that reason, it's going to be a big clash and all-action fight that everyone is going to enjoy," he said.
The Horn v Pacquiao blockbuster received double the amount of worldwide coverage compared to the G20 Summit in Brisbane in 2014, according to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.
"This fight will complete a feast of major international sporting events over three weeks including the Ashes and the semi-final and final of the Rugby League World Cup being at Suncorp Stadium," he said.
"These major events will deliver a significant economic boost to the city with a boost in hotel rooms nights and the flow-on economic benefits and local jobs."
Duco Events director Dean Lonergan said the second fight was expected to take place in the new year before June 30 and there were plenty of big names on the cards.
He said his company was still hoping to get Manny Pacquiao to return to Australia for a rematch, despite speculation he won't fight again.
"There have also been murmurings and rumblings that Conor McGregor could be interested in coming down, my message to Conor is: 'tell me how much you want and we'll see if we can make it work'," he said.
Horn said he was confident he could knock the Irishman out if they did meet in the ring.
The 2018 tourism and events calendar was also launched on Sunday, with Major Events Minister Kate Jones saying it was expected to inject $780 million into Queensland economy thanks to events such as Jeff Horn's fights and the Logies Awards, which are moving from Melbourne to the Gold Coast.
