Dmitry Bivol will defend the Unified World Light Heavyweight Championship against Callum Smith on Saturday, December 12, at UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Matchroom Boxing made the fight official Monday.
Smith is Bivol’s WBO mandatory challenger and holds the organization’s interim title. RCC Boxing and Matchroom are promoting, and DAZN has the broadcast. BoxingScene reports that Bivol’s WBA, WBO and IBF belts are on the line.
It ends a long wait for Smith. RCC Boxing CEO German Titov said earlier this month that negotiations with Smith’s team had finished and the documents were signed, and the December 12 target first surfaced in reports in early September. Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) has not fought since outpointing Joshua Buatsi in February 2025, so he will be close to two years out of the ring. His only light heavyweight world title shot so far was a stoppage loss to Artur Beterbiev in January 2024.
Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs) returns to the building where he outpointed Michael Eifert on May 30 in his IBF mandatory defense. Another IBF mandatory is already waiting, since Ben Whittaker won the IBF final eliminator on October 3.
The WBO question
The WBO did not allow its belt to be defended in the Eifert fight in Yekaterinburg. Smith tied that decision to the war in Ukraine when he discussed the Bivol fight in September on The Smith Brothers: Not A Podcast. He said the fight was waiting on WBO confirmation to be held in Russia and that, from what he was hearing, the organization would approve it this time. Bivol was facing a choice between the Beterbiev trilogy and Smith as far back as June.
BoxingScene reports that the WBO has since approved Russia as the host country, and no undercard has been announced.
For Smith, the fight is a chance to become a two-weight world champion. For Bivol, getting past him keeps a possible third fight with Beterbiev, with whom he has split two bouts, in play.
