The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6, also at the O2 World, but Klitschko was forced to postpone the bout after suffering a torn left biceps during a sparring session. Klitschko's doctor advised him to take about four weeks off before resuming training.

"I am delighted that the title defense can still take place in Hamburg. The atmosphere here is always gigantic," Klitschko said in a statement. "Due to the injury, I am taking a break from training now and will then start again with the preparation for the fight against Kubrat Pulev."

Said Bernd Boente, Klitschko's manager, "I am very happy that we have found a new date for the fight in Hamburg so quickly. Since the arena was already sold out, we are particularly glad for the fans of Wladimir Klitschko."

Klitschko (62-3, 53 KOs), 38, of Ukraine, will be making his 17th title defense. His 16 successful defenses during his second title reign are the third most in heavyweight history behind only Joe Louis (25) and Larry Holmes (20), and his eight-year-plus reign is second all-time to Louis' record 11 years, 8 months, 8 days.

Klitschko, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, moved to 23-2 overall in world title fights with a one-sided fifth-round knockout of Australia's Alex Leapai, a mandatory challenger, on April 26 in Oberhausen, Germany.

Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs), 33, of Bulgaria, a former European champion, earned his mandatory challenger status in August 2013 with a unanimous decision against American Tony Thompson, who had twice been knocked out by Klitschko in mandatory title fights.

Since becoming the mandatory challenger, Pulev, known as the Cobra, has fought twice, scoring a fourth-round knockout of Joey Abell, who knocked him down, in December, followed by a third-round knockout of Ivica Perkovic on April 5.

This fight is on live Eurosport HD free!