The WBO World Championship Committee has ordered world light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol (pictured) to commence negotiations for a mandatory defense of his WBO championship against WBO interim champion Callum Smith. Bivol and Smith have twenty days to reach an agreement, failing which purse bid proceedings may be ordered. Bivol also holds the IBF and WBA title belts, so he does have plenty of leverage to decline a fight vs. Smith if he chose to do so. Bivol's last fight was in May, a title defense against Michael Eifert of Germany. Smith, a former super middleweight champion, won the WBO interim belt in a grueling February 2025 battle against Joshua Buatsi. He has not fought since.

 

In announcing the ruling, WBO president Gustavo Olivieri tweeted, "Consistent with the WBO Regulations and our longstanding One Champion Policy, the purpose of this mandatory championship contest is to discharge the mandatory title defense obligation & terminate the interim championship status."