British star set for tough Dmitry Bivol title fight on Fury vs Joshua weekend

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Callum Smith will face one of the toughest tests of his career on 12 December, as he boxes Dmitry Bivol on foreign soil.

Liverpool’s Smith will challenge Bivol for the IBF, WBA and WBO light-heavyweight titles in Russia, in a home fight for his opponent.

Smith, 36, is a former super-middleweight champion who won the interim light-heavyweight WBO belt by outpointing Joshua Buatsi in February 2025. The Scouser has not fought since winning that brutal, thrilling bout on the undercard of Bivol’s points win over Artur Beterbiev.

Dmitry Bivol is a former undisputed champion with just one loss – a narrow defeat – to his name (Getty)
Dmitry Bivol is a former undisputed champion with just one loss – a narrow defeat – to his name (Getty)

Bivol’s victory that night crowned him undisputed champion in the division, as he avenged the sole loss of his professional career: a controversial decision defeat by Beterbiev in 2024. Since then, Bivol has vacated the WBC title and fought once, outpointing Michael Eifert in May.

The Russian, 35, will seek to become the third boxer to beat Smith, who has lost to Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez once each.

Beterbiev, whose only defeat came in his rematch with Bivol, stopped Smith in round seven in 2024, after modern great Alvarez beat the Briton on points in 2020.

Smith’s bout with Bivol will take place one day after Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury clash in the most-anticipated British fight of all time.

The former world heavyweight champions will headline at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, before Smith and Bivol round out a fight card at UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg.