Kenneth Sims has repeatedly said he’ll take tough fights to prove he deserves a 140-pound title shot.

Sims will do exactly that Aug. 2 in his hometown, when he’ll face hard-hitting Mexican Oscar Duarte in a high-stakes 12-round fight in Chicago. Golden Boy Promotions announced Tuesday that DAZN will stream Sims-Duarte as a main event from Credit Union 1 Arena on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Sims and Duarte initially were scheduled to fight on Golden Boy’s card Nov. 16 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A knee injury in training caused Sims to withdraw from that bout. Duarte instead beat Uzbekistan’s Batyr Akhmedov, an opponent Sims had already defeated, by unanimous decision in a 10-rounder on the Gilberto Ramirez-Chris Billam-Smith undercard.

“This fight is long overdue and I’m ready to put on a show and leave with the victory,” Sims said via statement. “I’m fully healthy now and ready to put on a stellar performance for my fans in Chicago. It’s a dream come true to headline in my hometown, the greatest city in the world.”

Sims, 31, a decorated amateur, rejuvenated his career four years ago when he upset Dominican southpaw Elvis Rodriguez (then 11-0-1) by majority decision at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Sims (22-2-1, 8 KOs) thought his majority-decision victory over Akhmedov (10-4, 9 KOs) would’ve earned him a title shot by now. Their 12-round bout at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was a WBA eliminator and one of the best action fights of 2023.

Injuries have limited him to fighting only twice since then, most recently Feb. 15. Sims beat Kendo Castaneda (21-9, 9 KOs), of San Antonio, Texas, by unanimous decision in a 10-round bout.

Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs) knocked out Mexico’s Miguel Madueno (31-4, 28 KOs) in the main event of that card at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Duarte, 29, has lost only once in the past six years.

Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) knocked out Duarte in the eighth round of their December 2023 bout at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Garcia considers Duarte the hardest puncher he's faced.

“There is nowhere to run and hide for Duarte and Sims in this [junior welterweight] fight that has been brewing over the past year,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya said via statement. “With all the animosity between the two, I can assure that fireworks will explode in this summer firecracker."

Sims is ranked fourth among the WBA’s contenders for its 140-pound champion, Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs). Duarte is rated fifth by the WBA.