Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko will return to the ring in September.

Wladimir Klitschko will defend his world heavyweight titles against Kubrat Pulev on 6 September.

IBF mandatory challenger Pulev will travel to the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany to attempt to dethrone the Ukrainian from the summit of the heavyweight division with the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO belts on the line.

"I will be fighting IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev on September 6th in the o2 World Hamburg, Germany," a statement on Klitschko's official website read.

"The Cobra is a challenge for me with his record of 20 and no losses. Last year he clearly won his fight against my former opponent Tony Thompson on points.

"So there is definitely no reason to underestimate him. I am looking forward to this challenge and can't wait to start my training camp to prepare for the next step of my mission."

33-year-old Pulev defeated Croatia's Ivica Perkovic inside three rounds in May to thrust himself into contention against the unbeaten Klitschko. The Bulgarian is undefeated in 20 fights with 11 of those win coming by way of knock out.

Two keen observes of the September bout will be British pair Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury. The two will meet in Manchester in July in hope of the winner being installed as the next number one contender for the IBF, WBA and WBA heavyweight titles.