The highly-anticipated fight between Callum Smith and David Morrell is finally official.
Smith and Morrell have been linked to a fight with one another for a number of months, ever since the Liverpudlian was mandated to defend his WBO interim light heavyweight title against his Cuban rival.
Following a long period of negotiations, it has now been confirmed that they will meet at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on April 18.
Both fighters are former world champions, with Smith having previously reigned as WBA super-middleweight champion, making two defences of his belt before losing to Canelo Alvarez in December 2020.
He then headed to 175lbs, and despite coming up short in a world title bid against Artur Beterbiev in January 2024, Smith bounced back and won the WBO interim light heavyweight title with a win over Joshua Buatsi in a fight of the year contender in February 2025.
It will be a tough challenge against Morrell, who has held the WBA Regular title at both super-middleweight and light heavyweight, suffering just one defeat in his career against David Benavidez last year.
The winner of the Smith vs. Morrell fight will be the mandatory for the WBO light heavyweight title, which is currently held by Dmitry Bivol, who also holds the WBA and IBF belts, while Benavidez is in possession of the WBC strap.
Bivol hasn’t fought since his victory over Artur Beterbiev in February 2025, but after an extended period out of the ring and mandatories lining up, the Smith vs. Morrell winner could soon get themselves a title shot, or may even be upgraded to full champion if the Russian chooses to vacate his title.
