Ricky Hatton is making a shock return to the boxing ring, but missed the press conference to announce it due to an injury suffered at an Oasis gig.
The 46-year-old has not fought professionally since 2012 when he was stopped by Vyacheslav Senchenko in what was a comeback fight at the time.
That bout came over three years after his previous fight, a 2009 knockout defeat to Manny Pacquiao.
Hatton’s last win was in November 2008 when he stopped Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas.
He will look to add another victory to his record in December, when he steps through the ropes again, taking on Eisa Al Dah in Dubai.
Al Dah is the UAE’s first professional fighter, also 46 years old, and holds a record of 8-3, with his last victory coming in 2012.
Hatton posted confirmation of the December 2 fight on Sunday, but he did not fly to Dubai for the scheduled press conference due to a bizarre injury.
The Sun report that Hatton was left with an eye injury caused by his sunglasses while attending the Oasis comeback gig in Cardiff on Friday night.
The former world champion was advised not to fly due to the unexpected issue, so had to pull out of the press conference to announce his own return.
Explaining the issue, he said: ‘I wish I was there but I had a little bad injury on my eye. The main thing is the fight will take place and I can’t wait, I’m really looking forward to it.
‘It’s just one of them freakish things, I caught one of my sunglasses in my eyes and I’m very fortunate it’s not done any permanent damage. It’s just scraped the surface, so fingers crossed we’re good to go.’
There was a video call to promote the fight, though, with Al Dah insisting that it will be an action-packed contest.
‘Trust me, this fight will not be like the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight,’ said the man known as the Arabian Warrior. ‘It will be a true fight, true action.
‘And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight.
‘The place will be sold out and it will be watched around the world.’
Hatton’s professional record stands at 45-3, with his only defeats coming against Senchenko, Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
He won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight, at one stage boasting a perfect 43-0 record.