Joshua landed the strap with a brutal second round KO win over former champion Charles Martin at The O2 in London in April and defended it with a seventh round stoppage win over Dominic Breazeale at his Greenwich fortress in June.
The 2012 Olympic hero puts the belt on the line for a second time in his second outing at the famous Manchester venue where he stopped Konstantin Airich in three rounds in September 2014 in his eighth pro outing.
“When I first started my professional career I travelled all round the country fighting, which I loved, this is taking me back to the grass roots,” said Joshua.
“I can’t wait to get back up north and show the people of Manchester how much I have improved since the last time I was there. I have been inspired over the summer by the fighters in the Olympics, it has given me a new perspective and huge hunger to get back in ring.
“It has taken a bit of time to officially announce the fight, we want this to be a spectacular show, all the way up the card and it takes time to get these things right.”
An announcement on the opponent and ticket details will be released the week commencing September 26.
