On November 7, the light heavyweight contenders will meet on the undercard of the WBC interim 175-pound title fight between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson.

As soon as he found out Queensberry were coming back to Manchester’s AO Arena, Rea put up his hand and asked to be put into a big fight.

Initially, the 28-year-old former European champion began campaigning for the chance to set the record straight with Lyndon Arthur who got off the floor to outpoint him in an exciting Manchester derby last November.

When that fight failed to materialize, Rea (22-2, 11 KOs) leaped at the chance to meet Taylor (13-1, 9 KOs).

A win lines him up for a major fight early in 2027, while defeat would force him into a major rebuilding project.

“I said we'd like the Lyndon rematch,” Rea told The Ring.

“I don't know if it was on the cards but I just said that's the fight I'd like. I thought it made sense with the main event being a rematch and if we could get that rematch on the card, it would be a good sell. I don't know how far that went. I left it with my team but when they came back Ezra Taylor got mentioned and it was an easy yes.

“It’s a great fight and ticks a lot of boxes. Ezra's a very good fighter and I feel like beating him will push me on to that next level.”

Despite turning in a disappointing performance and losing a wide decision to Hutchinson in March, Taylor isn’t a faded name whose best days are behind him.

Rae found himself in exactly the same position after losing to Arthur. In May he returned to impressively dismantle Liam Cameron inside four rounds and knows just how determined Taylor will be to show what he can really do.

Neither fighter can afford a second defeat at this level and it would have been very easy for both to seek alternative routes through the division.

That thought never crossed Rea’s mind. Ever since his days as a young middleweight on the small hall scene in Manchester he has dreamed of headlining arenas and bringing important, high-stakes fights to his home city.

“I think he's probably one of the best domestically. It would be pointless for me to get a foreign opponent in because look how many top domestic fighters there are at my level,” Rea said.

“What's the point? Put me in with one of them kids. Queensberry promote half of them. It makes perfect sense.

“When I was a kid, I never used to tune in to a fight to see someone fighting a random opponent. I used to want to see two domestic names in a good fight for a title or an eliminator. I wanted to sit down and think, 'Yeah, that’s going to be a good fight.'

“They're the type of fights I want to be in.”