A date has been confirmed for British heavyweights Tony Bellew and David Haye to settle their unfinished business at the O2 Arena.

And, in a break from tradition, it will be on a Sunday.

A rematch always looked on the cards after Bellew won their first fight at the O2 in unsatisfactory circumstances.

Haye battled bravely from an injury to his right Achilles in the sixth, before finally succumbing in the 11th.

Only last week Haye called Bellew out, saying that all terms had been agreed for a fight in December and all that remained was for the Liverpool fighter to sign on the dotted line.

Now a date of December 10 has been confirmed for the rematch, as revealed by The Sun.

And, unlike most major bouts, which are fought out on a Friday or Saturday night, this one falls on a Sunday with the London venue fully booked on Saturdays for the rest of the year.

The only other major contest to be fought this year on the Sabbath came when Australian cruiserweight Mark Flanagan lost to Denis Lebedev in Russia in July.

Coming in the wake of the Hughie Fury–Joseph Parker fight, which failed to sell-out the Manchester Arena on Saturday, this leaves the promoters with a hard-sell to shift tickets.

Bellew took home £2.8million from the first fight and admits that afterwards he considered retirement.

“Did I think I was done after the Haye fight?” 

"At first my hand was damaged and my face was sore.

“I had headaches for a while and I think to myself: ‘how much more can the body take?’

“Yes, I did think about it. I sat down with the missus and she said ‘listen we’ve earned enough, we’ve got enough property.

"It was down to me to make a decision, and I said ‘I can do more.’

“I’m getting better as I get older and I don’t want to walk away and think, imagine if I would have fought him. I’ve still got a lot of fight in me.”

As for the outcome, much will depend on how fully Haye has recovered from an operation to his right Achilles.

A clip has been posted on the Hayemaker’s Twitter account showing him throwing punches and skipping, but it still remains to be seen how much power he will be able to generate from his right foot.