NEWCASTLE'S Chad "Hollywood" Bennett will fight the main preliminary to the Danny Green-Roy Jones jnr International Boxing Organisation cruiserweight title bout in Sydney next Wednesday, which is being billed as one of the biggest nights in Australian boxing history.

Less than two weeks after the most significant win of his career, a unanimous points decision over former IBO world lightweight champion Aldo Rios, Bennett will fight Central Coast southpaw Steve Wills over 12 rounds for the IBO Asia-Pacific junior welterweight belt.

Bennett had hoped to fight Rios for that title but was unable to secure the IBO's sanction.

Wills, the World Boxing Organisation Asia-Pacific junior welterweight champion, was scheduled to fight former world champion Derrick Gainer.

But matchmaker Patrick Kennedy, Newcastle's former NSW heavyweight champion, said the 37-year-old American was unable to secure the necessary paperwork to leave the United States.

That presented an opportunity for Bennett, who leapt at the chance to fill in at short notice.

Bennett fought seven days apart earlier in his career and was confident he could overcome the 10-day gap between fights.

"I can't overstate how important this fight is in terms of Australian boxing," Kennedy said.

"This is the biggest card this year, if not the last 10 years, so it's a big chance for both Chad and Stevie, and at this stage I'm pretty sure it will be the main preliminary."

Unbeaten Wills, 25, has won 12 and drawn two of his 14 professional fights.

Bennett said he was excited at the prospect of fighting in front of a capacity crowd of 18,000 at Acer Arena and millions more through Australian and international pay-television.

"It's an exciting time for me, and there's a little bit of pressure involved too, but I feel a lot better equipped to deal with that because of the way I feel, knowing I won't have to kill myself to make the weight, and all the support I've got from people like [manager] Richard Claut and Jeff Fenech," Bennett said.