WBO Expected To Rule On Bivol-Smith, Russia Sanction Policy This Week

The WBO expects to rule this week on whether Dmitry Bivol’s mandatory defence against Callum Smith can take place in Russia, with the decision potentially determining whether the organisation relaxes a restriction it has maintained since 2022.

Bivol and Smith have agreed terms to fight on December 12 at the UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, but the WBO has yet to approve its light-heavyweight title being contested at the venue.

Asked by Box.Live whether a decision had been made and, if not, when a ruling was expected, WBO president Gustavo Olivieri said: “We will rule on the matter this week.”

Matchroom told Box.Live it had received no indication of any issue from the WBO and, as far as it was aware, the fight remained scheduled to take place as advertised on December 12.

RCC Boxing Promotions, which is promoting the event in Yekaterinburg, did not respond to Box.Live’s enquiries.

Bivol chose to face WBO interim champion Smith rather than move immediately towards a third fight with Artur Beterbiev. The proposed mandatory defence, however, remains subject to the WBO’s decision over sanctioning a world-title contest in Russia.

“It’s not fully official yet, well it is, but I think that they have got to wait for confirmation off of the WBO to allow the fight in Russia,” Smith said on The Smith Brothers: Not A Podcast. “Obviously, last time they didn’t sanction his last defence there because of the Ukraine war and stuff like that, but from what I am hearing I think that they will [this time].”

The same issue arose when Bivol returned from a 15-month absence to face IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert in Yekaterinburg in May. The WBO declined to sanction that contest because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, meaning only Bivol’s WBA and IBF titles were defended. He retained his WBO championship without putting it at stake.

The WBO’s restrictions date to 2022, when the major sanctioning organisations introduced measures affecting championship boxing in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The WBO subsequently prevented world and regional title contests from taking place in the country and removed Russian fighters from its rankings.

Russian boxers returned to the WBO rankings in June 2024, allowing them to compete for and hold its championships outside Russia, but the separate restriction on staging WBO title fights inside the country remained.

That territorial policy came under renewed discussion at the WBO convention in June 2026. Russian representatives asked the organisation to reconsider its position, pointing to the WBA and IBF having resumed sanctioning championship contests in the country. The WBO agreed to examine the issue rather than immediately lifting its restriction.

Smith secured the WBO interim title by outpointing Joshua Buatsi in Riyadh in February 2025 and has not fought since. He was due to face David Morrell on April 18 but withdrew after suffering an injury in training. Morrell instead took a short-notice fight against Zak Chelli on May 9 and was stopped in the 10th round in one of the year's biggest upsets.

Bivol’s decision to face Smith would satisfy his WBO mandatory obligation while leaving open the possibility of a third fight with Beterbiev, which has been discussed for April 2027.

For now, Matchroom expects Bivol-Smith to proceed in Yekaterinburg as advertised. The outstanding question is whether the WBO will sanction its championship on Russian soil for the first time since introducing its post-invasion restrictions, a decision the organisation now says will come this week.