IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham will celebrate his long-awaited ring return on May 26 when he takes on Canada's Sebastien Demers in Bamberg, Germany.

The undefeated 27-year-old (22-0, 17 KOs) has been out of action since his impressive points victory over Edison Miranda in September 2006. Back then, King Arthur saw off the Colombian challenger despite fighting with a broken jaw for the last eight rounds.

Next up for Abraham is a meeting with unbeaten Demers (20-0, 9 KOs), who is ranked 15th by the IBF and 14th by the WBA. "As a world champion I am used to fighting strong opponents," King Arthur said. "He is taller than me and throws a good right hand. I have to be in top shape to beat him."

Abraham said he was happy to see the back of a long break. "I have been waiting for a long time to make my fourth title defense," he stated. "I have been in practice ever since January. Despite the two titanium plates in my jaw I can´t wait to get back into action."

On the same card, unbeaten cruiserweight Marco Huck (18-0, 14 KOs) will battle out an IBF title eliminator with Russia´s Vadim Tokarev (23-0, 16 KOs).