Saudi Arabia has made an offer to stage a lightweight unification clash between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez, according to Bob Arum.

The Top Rank promoter says that a deal has been agreed for the fight to go ahead and will happen in April if it takes place in the United States – with rival New York venues Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center the most likely sites - or in May if it is in Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East country has emerged as a big player in the boxing business after staging the World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight final between Callum Smith and George Groves in 2018 as well as the heavyweight title rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr, for which it is believed to have paid a $40 million site fee.

“Lomachenko is fighting Lopez, that is done,” Arum said “Now the question is the site of the fight.

“We have Madison Square Garden bidding against Barclays in Brooklyn and we are also getting a bid from Saudi Arabia to do that fight.

“It will be April, or a worst case scenario it would be in May if it went to Saudi Arabia because it would be after Ramadan (the Muslim holy month that finishes on May 23).

Lomachenko, the double Olympic champion and three-weight world champion from Ukraine, will be attempting to complete the set of belts at lightweight, having already claimed the WBO, WBA and IBF titles. Lopez, 22, claimed the IBF title in December with a two-round stoppage of Richard Commey and set his sights in Lomachenko straight after.

While both have had only 15 professional bouts, there is a huge gulf in experience between the two with regards to their amateur pedigree. Lomachenko, 31, won gold medals at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, in Beijing and London respectively, while Lopez, a New Yorker, boxed for Honduras at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, losing in the opening round to Sofiane Oumiha, the eventual silver-medallist from France.

“Lomachenko has all these young guys [wanting to face him],” Arum said. “The Lopez fight is a hell of a fight.”

When asked whether Lopez was ready to face a boxer like Lomachenko, Arum replied: “Lopez thinks he is. Lopez is the kind of fighter than really surprises everyone. I was shocked with the Commey fight, I thought that was a long difficult fight.”