The third fight against Artur Beterbiev is taking a back seat for now: The WBO has ordered Bivol to face Callum Smith in a mandatory title defense.
It’s now official: The WBO has ordered Dmitry Bivol to defend his title against interim world champion Callum Smith. Both teams now have 20 days to reach an agreement. If no agreement is reached, the world governing body will schedule a purse bid.
Bivol had only recently made a successful comeback in May with a victory over Michael Eifert after a lengthy injury layoff. There had been recent speculation about a possible third fight against Artur Beterbiev. Instead, the world champion decided to retain his WBO title and make his mandatory defense against Smith.
WBO President Gustavo Olivieri officially confirmed the ruling: “The goal of this mandatory bout is to ensure the world champion defends his title while simultaneously ending the interim world champion’s status.” If no agreement is reached within the set deadline, the rights to host the fight will be auctioned off. This could soon lead to a showdown between two former world champions for the light heavyweight title.
Text by Robin Josten