Artur Beterbiev is finally back to where he was prior to the pandemic.

A homecoming title defense is in store for the lineal/WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion, who faces top contender Marcus Browne on December 17 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. The fight will be the first in Beterbiev’s adopted home country since winning the title, and first fight of any kind in Canada in nearly five years.

“A home fight is always better than fighting somewhere else,” Beterbiev told BoxingScene.com during recent virtual press conference to formally discuss the upcoming ESPN+ event. “For me, to have [a] fight in [the] USA, Europe or somewhere, I really don’t care. I have big experience in the amateurs. We traveled a lot when we (boxed in) in the amateurs. “But I like fighting at home.”

The homecoming is more than 20 months in the making, with Beterbiev (16-0, 16KOs) among the many boxing personalities affected by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Plans were in place for his first title defense to have taken place last March 28 at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, only for the event to be permanently scrapped.

Beterbiev was due to face IBF mandatory challenger Meng Fanlong (17-0, 10KOs), with the fight never making its way back to the schedule due to relocation and travel restrictions. Several delays left Beterbiev out of the ring for 17 months following his 10th round knockout of Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14KOs) to win the light heavyweight crown.

Instead of a Canada homecoming, Beterbiev was instead treated to a title defense in his native Russia, where he was born and raised and whom he represented in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. A tenth-round stoppage of Adam Deines this past March 20 took place in Moscow, marking his first fight in Russia since relocating to Montreal shortly after the 2012 Olympics.

Up next is unfinished business of sorts—not so much his dangerous showdown with Browne (24-1, 16KOs), but bringing a championship fight to his long-embraced hometown.

“Almost nine years I’ve lived in Montreal,” noted Beterbiev. “Even when I say it’s not my city, it is my city.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox