PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Roy Jones Jr. will defend his light heavyweight championship against World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization No. 1 contender Clinton Woods on Sept. 7 in Portland.

It will be the first world title bout in Portland in nearly 40 years. The last championship fight saw Denny Moyer take a unanimous decision from Joey Giambra for the junior middleweight title on Oct. 20, 1962.

The fight, originally scheduled for London, came to Portland after Jones (46-1, 37 KOs) visited Nike corporate headquarters in nearby Beaverton and said he didn't want to fight overseas.

"I like to do things in different places," Jones said. "Big fights happen in Las Vegas and New York all the time. Why take it to the same old, same old, same old places? Other people want to see things too."

Woods (32-1, 19 KOs), from Sheffield, England, has been the WBC No. 1 contender since Sept., 2001.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," said Woods via a conference call from England. "He (Jones) is not the best, but he's very good. I think I can beat him."

IBF junior middleweight world champion Ronald "Winky" Wright will defend his title against Bronco McKart as part of a seven-fight undercard. Wright (43-3, 25 KOs) and McKart (45-3, 29 KOs) have fought twice before, each winning a 12-round decision.

Wright expressed frustration at what he views as the unwillingness of other top fighters like Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas to take him on. Wright lost a majority decision to Vargas in 1999 at Lincoln City, Ore.

"The people are tired of seeing them run from me," Wright said. "I'm tired of seeing them run from me."

The Wright-McKart and Jones-Woods fights will be broadcast live on HBO.

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