LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright will fight in a middleweight championship bout June 17, agreeing to a deal Friday after more than a month of on-again, off-again negotiations.

Three sites are being considered for the fight: Las Vegas; Memphis, Tenn.; and Atlanta.

Gary Shaw, promoter for Wright, said Las Vegas was the most likely venue. The bout will be carried by HBO.

The WBC ordered Taylor (25-0) to make his next defence against Wright (50-3). If Taylor and Wright failed to reach an agreement, a purse offer was to be held in which other promoters would have the chance to bid for the fight.

Negotiations for the fight appeared to break down in January after Wright's team asked for a 50-50 split of the purse. Taylor's team apparently began considering other options, such as a fight against Australia's Sam Soliman.

But Taylor promoter Lou DiBella said Shaw resumed talks this week. DiBella had said Taylor's team would risk losing the WBC belt rather than accepting an unfair deal.

Shaw said the terms of the deal were ``the same as they were before,'' but declined to specify. It is believed the offer to Wright was about $3 million US, and Taylor would receive about $4 million.

Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins in July to win the middleweight championship, then beat him again in December.

``On June 17, everybody is going to see clearly who's the real champion,'' DiBella said.