LIVERPOOL’S Callum Smith has been ordered to defend his WBO 175-pound Interim strap against David Morrell as the sanctioning body attempts to keep the division active.
The move is in relation to WBO champ Dmitry Bivol’s expected third clash with Artur Beterbiev later in the year. Bivol picked up that belt along with the WBA, IBF and WBC titles in their February rematch.
All relevant parties, including Eddie Hearn and Matchroom for Smith, as well as Leon Margules for Morrell, have been informed and are expected to commence negotiations, with purse bids to follow if a suitable deal cannot be reached.
While Bivol and Beterbiev are the supremely matched, undoubted top two operators at the summit of the division, Smith and Morrell are proven world-class boxers, hanging around at the fringes of the top tier. A win for Smith would push him back up towards the dynamic duo, or place him in line for a crack at David Benavidez.
Cuba’s Morrell has already lost to Benavidez and is reaping the benefits of the judges’ decision to award him a narrow win over Russian beast Imam Khataev recently. Smith, meanwhile, has had a tilt at greatness a couple of times before and fallen short.
First to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez when his hips and biceps received a 12-round tonking in 2020. Then to Artur Beterbiev, when he stood and tried to trade to both his credit and his downfall. No hips or biceps for Beterbiev, who battered head, body and everything else he could find during their 2024 meeting.
With Smith’s win over the previously-unbeaten Joshua Buatsi and Morrell’s fan-friendly struggles with Khataev, you could argue that the Englishman will arrive on better form, should this matchup be finalised as the WBO wish.
