After a delayed announcement, Dmitry Bivol’s next bout has been confirmed.
Although Bivol had been linked to potential bouts with Artur Beterbiev and David Benavidez, an August announcement indicated he would first face mandatory challenger Callum Smith.
RCC Promotions secured a deal to stage the event without purse bids, intending for Bivol to headline a second consecutive card in Ekaterinburg, Russia, following his May home‑soil defence against Michael Eifert.
However, the WBO declined to sanction the Eifert bout as a world title fight due to the location, and similar complications resurfaced when it was announced that Bivol’s showdown with mandatory challenger Smith would also be held in Russia.
Consequently, rumors surfaced that the event might be moved to a card promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, which promotes Smith, with their annual December Monaco show proposed as an alternative.
RCC Promotions today confirmed that Smith has signed his updated contract to challenge Bivol for the WBA, WBO and IBF titles.
“WBO Light Heavyweight mandatory contender, WBO World Interim Champion from the United Kingdom Callum Smith signed the official contract to fight a unified world champion, Dmitriy Bivol.”
Adding to the announcement, RCC Boxing Promotions CEO German Titov confirmed that the event will proceed as planned in Ekaterinburg, implying that the WBO has decided to sanction the bout as a title fight.
“Today we closed the prolonged talks with Callum Smith’s team, all the necessary papers for him to fight Dmitriy Bivol are signed. RCC Boxing will promote this fight and it will happen in December in Ekaterinburg. As we mentioned earlier, the date is planned to be December 12th.”
Smith aims to become a two‑weight world champion should he prevail, having previously held world titles at 168 lb.
