Dmitry Bivol to defend light-heavyweight titles against Callum Smith on December 12

Dmitry Bivol will defend his unified light-heavyweight championship against WBO mandatory challenger Callum Smith on December 12 at the UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Bivol’s WBA, IBF and WBO belts, as well as The Ring championship, will be at stake. The event will be co-promoted by Matchroom Boxing and RCC Boxing and broadcast live on DAZN.

The announcement follows uncertainty over whether the WBO would sanction the contest in Russia. Representatives for Bivol and Smith reached terms in August, avoiding a purse bid, but the governing body’s approval remained outstanding.

The WBO declined to sanction Bivol’s May 30 defence against Michael Eifert at the same venue because of Russia’s continuing war with Ukraine. Only the WBA and IBF titles were contested that night, while Bivol retained his WBO belt without defending it.

Restrictions introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had prevented WBO world and regional title fights from being staged in the country. Russian boxers returned to the organisation’s rankings in June 2024, although the separate restriction on championship contests in Russia remained under review.

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri told Box.Live last month: “We will rule on the matter this week.”

Smith had also acknowledged that sanctioning approval was the final obstacle to an official announcement.

“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,” he 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 fight will take place despite the UK government advising British nationals against all travel to Russia. British heavyweight Joe Joyce fought in Moscow in July, losing to Artem Suslenkov.

Bivol, 25-1 (12 KOs), will make his second appearance since avenging his only professional defeat against Artur Beterbiev in February 2025. Beterbiev won their first meeting before Bivol reversed the result in the rematch to become undisputed champion.

The 35-year-old later relinquished the WBC title while pursuing a third fight with Beterbiev, but the trilogy did not materialise. Back surgery contributed to a 15-month absence before Bivol returned against Eifert, scoring a first-round knockdown on his way to a shutout decision. He underwent a further procedure in July to address an issue with his left elbow.

Smith, 31-2 (22 KOs), secured his mandatory position by outpointing Joshua Buatsi for the WBO interim title in Riyadh in February 2025. He has not fought since and will enter the Bivol contest after almost 22 months out of the ring.

A planned April bout with David Morrell was abandoned after Smith suffered a rib injury in training. The 36-year-old instead retained his place in line for a title opportunity and will now attempt to become a two-weight champion.

Smith held the WBA super-middleweight title before losing to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in December 2020 and subsequently moving up to 175lbs. His first light-heavyweight title challenge ended in a stoppage defeat by Beterbiev in January 2024, but his victory over Buatsi earned him another route to the championship.

Bivol’s longer-term options include a possible third fight with Beterbiev, which has been discussed for 2027. WBC champion David Benavidez has also expressed interest in facing him.