Bivol Faces Elbow Surgery As WBO Orders Smith Mandatory

Dmitry Bivol's return to the ring will have to wait a little longer.

The unified heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight champion will undergo surgery on July 4 to address an injured left elbow, adding another delay to a title picture that has already spent considerable time in administrative and medical holding patterns. A return date will be determined once Bivol has come through the procedure.

The timing compounds an already complicated situation. Bivol had only just returned from over a year on the sidelines following back surgery, stopping Michael Eifert by unanimous decision on May 30 to confirm he was back and operational. The elbow surgery now interrupts that momentum before he has had the chance to build on it.

The WBO is expected to formally order a mandatory title defence against Callum Smith shortly after the surgery, a development that puts Smith — who stepped up his own case with a victory over Joshua Buatsi in February 2025 — in the formal queue with the weight of a governing body behind him. A mandatory order does not guarantee the fight happens next, but it narrows Bivol's options and gives Smith's camp a mechanism to apply pressure if negotiations stall.

The mandatory development also affects the other names circling the light heavyweight picture. Artur Beterbiev has been vocal about wanting a trilogy fight with Bivol, insisting he believes he won the second contest and that a third meeting is inevitable. The surgery adds further delay to a fight Beterbiev has already complained is taking too long to materialise — he said this week that Bivol "doesn't want to fight," and the elbow news gives that frustration more runway.

David Benavidez sits further back in the same queue. The three-division champion has expressed interest in challenging Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight title at 175, a cross-divisional fight that carries significant commercial appeal and would settle the question of how Benavidez measures against the elite at a weight class where he once held the WBC belt. Both he and Beterbiev will wait while Smith's mandatory takes shape and Bivol's recovery determines the timeline.