WBO Orders Bivol To Face Smith

Dmitry Bivol has been given twenty days to reach terms with Callum Smith, or face the possibility of purse bid proceedings and a fight being made for him.

The WBO issued the mandatory order this week, instructing Bivol and Smith — the organisation's interim champion and number one contender — to commence negotiations for the WBO heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light-heavyweight title.

Bivol is understood to be prioritising the Smith fight following elbow surgery, having decided against relinquishing the WBO belt in pursuit of a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. Both men are promoted by Matchroom Boxing, which removes the promotional friction that often turns straightforward mandatories into months of posturing.

Bivol (23-1) recently returned to the ring for an IBF mandatory defence against Michael Eifert in Russia, keeping his unified status intact while working his way back to full fitness. The elbow surgery complicates the timeline but does not appear to have changed his intentions about which fight comes next.

Smith (29-2) has not competed since February 2025, when he outpointed Joshua Buatsi by unanimous decision in a fight that drew widespread praise as one of the year's best contests. The victory should have propelled him toward a world title shot immediately. Instead, the subsequent months produced setbacks — a scheduled fight with David Morrell in April fell apart when Smith withdrew through injury, and Morrell's fight with late replacement Zak Chelli ended in a major upset when the Frenchman stopped the Cuban. The light-heavyweight landscape shifted considerably while Smith waited.

The broader context gives the fight additional weight. David Benavidez, who holds the WBC light-heavyweight title, has made no secret of his desire to face Bivol. The Mexican-American champion has repeatedly identified the Russian as a top priority and the fight that would definitively establish him as the division's best. A Bivol-Smith winner emerges as the most compelling available opponent for Benavidez, making the mandatory not just a title defence but a positioning fight for the division's defining matchup.