Accordiing to WBO president Gustavo Olivieri, world light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol (pictured) has agreed that his next title defense will be against former super middleweight champion Callum Smith, with fight details coming son. Olivieri tweeted: "the WBO World Championship Committee has received written confirmation from RCC Boxing, on behalf of WBO light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol, and [from] Matchroom Boxing, on behalf of mandatory challenger Callum Smith, confirming that the parties have reached terms, including an agreed date and venue for the WBO light heavyweight mandatory championship contest. The WBO respectfully defers to the parties to formally announce the date, venue, and event details in due course."
Bivol is the true 175-pound world champion as a result of defeating Artur Beterbiev. Bivol is currently recognized by the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO but not the WBC.
PRIOR BOXINGTALK COVERAGE
JULY 29, 2026: Boxingtalk joins the WBC in wishing world light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol a swift, effective and complete recovery following what has been reported as successful scheduled elbow surgery. Across Bivol's social media platforms, he offered a reassuring message to the boxing community: “Scheduled elbow surgery is behind me,” Bivol shared. “Everything went well. Thank you everyone for your support, messages, and kind words.” Bivol split two world championship bouts with Artur Beterbiev in 2024-2025, winning the second one. Earlier this year, he won an easy fight against Michael Eifert.
JULY 7, 2026: 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."
