After months of speculation, the world title clash between Dmitry Bivol and Callum Smith has finally been confirmed.
Bivol became undisputed light heavyweight champion after gaining revenge over Artur Beterbiev back in February 2025, before vacating the WBC belt and having an extended period on the sidelines due to requiring back surgery.
That absence meant when he returned he had several mandatory challengers to deal with, the first coming in May when he fulfilled his IBF mandatory, retaining his unified world titles with a points win over Michael Eifert at the UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Bivol will now return to the same venue in order to take on his WBO mandatory, as it has been officially announced that he will collide with former world champion Smith on December 12.
It’s Official! 👑 @bivol_d will defend his Unified World Light Heavyweight Championship against @CallumSmith23 in Yekaterinburg, Dec 12 😮💨
What a fight! 🔥 #BivolSmith pic.twitter.com/gjnhdUQ1e3
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) October 12, 2026
Smith is the former WBA super-middleweight champion after knocking out George Groves back in 2018, but he has campaigned at 175lbs ever since a defeat to Canelo Alvarez in December 2020.
The Liverpudlian has had one world title shot at light heavyweight to date, suffering a stoppage loss to Artur Beterbiev in January 2024, but he has won two fights since then, notably a victory over Joshua Buatsi in a Fight of the Year contender in February 2025.
That was the last time Smith was in action, meaning it will be nearly two years since he was last in the ring when he faces Bivol, but he will be hoping to upset the odds and deny the Russian the chance to move on to a possible trilogy showdown with Beterbiev.
