Dmitry Bivol official to defend unified titles against Callum Smith in December
Bivol and Smith agreed to the fight in late August, but it took a substantial delay for the WBO to grant sanctioning of the bout.
Dmitry Bivol is set to defend his unified WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles against Callum Smith in a December bout at the UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The two fighters agreed to the match in late August, bypassing a purse bid hearing. However, the announcement came with a delay as lead promoter RCC Boxing worked out the details and applied for sanctioning approval from the WBO.
The WBO has not sanctioned title bouts in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but has now changed its rules to allow the Bivol-Smith fight. Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs) and Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) previously won their titles together on a February 2025 card, with Bivol becoming undisputed champion by defeating Artur Beterbiev in a rematch, and Smith upsetting Joshua Buatsi to claim the WBO interim title.
Despite the 20-month gap since that memorable event, the duo have faced each other only once, with Bivol winning via unanimous decision in a contest against Eifert. Smith, a former super middleweight champion, was scheduled to defend his belt against David Morrell in April, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Morrell opted to take on Zak Chelli instead, who ultimately submitted him in Round 10.
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