There is some more movement in the light heavyweight division outside of the impending third bout between
Dmitry Bivol and
Artur Beterbiev.
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced that the sanctioning body has ordered a fight between WBO interim light heavyweight champion
Callum Smith and
David Morrell. Representatives for Smith and Morrell have 30 days from July 21 to reach a deal, or the fight could go to a purse bid.
“It is a matter of public knowledge that WBO 175 lbs,” Olivieri wrote on X. “Champion Bivol is on course for a trilogy vs. Beterbiev. Therefore, in furtherance of keeping the division active, the WBO is ordering Callum Smith vs. David Morrell.”
England’s Smith (31-2, 22 KOs), a former WBA/WBC champion at super middleweight, won the interim WBO light heavyweight title with a thrilling unanimous-decision victory over another Brit,
Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs), on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Smith, 35, was in negotiations to face WBC light heavyweight champion
David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), but those talks fell through and Benavidez is now set to face
Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) on Nov. 22 in Riyadh
in the main event of the “The Ring IV” card.
Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs) is coming off
a narrow split-decision victory over Russia’s Imam Khataev on July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. The Cuban southpaw overcame a fifth-round knockdown as he and
Khataev (10-1, 9 KOs) engaged in a back-and-forth war for the duration of their 10-round bout.
Morrell, 27, won the WBA’s secondary light heavyweight title by defeating
Radivoje Kalajdzic unanimously on points last Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Miami’s Morrell lost that title to Benavidez, who defeated Morrell by unanimous decision on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.