The 24-year-old, who has previously suffered defeats to Joseph Parker and Kubrat Pulev, recently inked a promotional contract with Eddie Hearn and will step up to world level once again at Wembley.
Cousin of Tyson, Hughie went undefeated in his first 20 fights as a professional before suffering a razor-tight points decision defeat to Parker when challenging for the WBO world title on home turf in 2017.
He made his return against Sam Sexton, winning the British title by knockout in the fifth round, before suffering a gruelling defeat to Pulev in Bulgaria a year ago.
“I’m over the moon with this news.” Fury said. “I can’t wait. These are the kind of fights I want to be in. Matchroom can get me these big names and I’m just really looking forward to it.
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“Povetkin is a dangerous man. You can’t take anything away from that. He’s not been where he’s been for nothing. It’s a very serious fight but I’m confident of getting the win on the night.
“This fight here represents a massive opportunity. As soon as it was suggested, I said ‘yes.’ Povetkin is a completely different level to my last fight and I believe his style will complement mine.”
Povetkin hurt Joshua early on (Getty)
Fury’s new promoter Hearn added: “I can’t quite believe this fight has been made. It’s happened very quickly and it has to be said – Hughie Fury has a big set of balls.
“There’s huge risk in this fight but there is also huge reward. If Hughie can beat Povetkin on August 31, he catapults himself into huge fights and immediate world title contention. It’s going to be a great fight on a great card.”
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