WBO President Gustavo Olivieri has given WBC interim light heavyweight champion Callum Smith and David Morrell a deadline of 4 pm ET this Friday, November 14th, to reach a deal before he orders a purse bid.
Smith’s Title Dream Re-Routed
Last summer, on July 21, 2025, the World Boxing Organization ordered the Callum Smith vs. David Morrell fight. The WBO’s order messed up plans for the 35-year-old Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) to fight WBC 175-lb champion David Benavidez or WBO champion Dmitry Bivol.
Smith had reportedly been in talks with Benavidez before the WBO’s order. That fight would have given Callum a shot at becoming a two-division world champion. Instead, Smith has to fight #2 WBA, #2 WBC, #2 WBO, and #4 IBF contender Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs).
For Smith to get a title shot now, he must defeat the Cuba-born Morrell, and that’s not going to be easy. Morrell is a lot younger at 27, and he’s got a new trainer, Abel Sanchez, who replaces Ronnie Shields. It’s Sanchez’s job to reinvent Morrell, filling in the missing ingredient needed for him to capitalize on his superior power, technique, and athletic ability to become the #1 fighter at 175.
Morrell’s Inconsistency Problem
Morrell did not look impressive in his last three fights against Imam Khataev, David Benavidez, and Radivoje Kalajdzic. He lost to Benavidez by a 12-round unanimous decision earlier this year on February 1st, then struggled to defeat Khataev by a controversial 10-round split decision on July 12, 2025, in Queens, New York.
The three fights demonstrated that Morrell has a problem with consistency in his offense and a tendency to retreat to the ropes and cover up. He can’t do that against quality fighters, as they allow him to be bombarded on.
That’s what led to Morrell getting beaten by Benavidez and coming close to losing to Khataev. When Morrell was on offense in both fights, he was a nightmare for them. But then he would back up, clown, or retreat to the ropes, fighting like a sparring partner. It was strange to watch because Morrell should know better, given his many years in Cuba fighting against elite opposition, such as Julio Cesar La Cruz and Osleys Iglesias. If he fights like that against Callum Smith, he’ll get knocked out.
“Re: WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Championship Smith/Morrell. The WBO will grant the parties until tomorrow, 4:00 p.m. (AST) to reach terms. Failure to do so will result in ordering purse bid proceedings,” said WBO president Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. on X about the Callum Smith vs. David Morrell fight.
The former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith defeated previously unbeaten 2016 Olympian Joshua Buatsi by a 12-round unanimous decision on February 22, 2025, in Riyadh. That was a thrilling back-and-forth type of fight that Smith pulled out by hurting Buatsi repeatedly in the championship rounds. The scores were 115-113, 119-110, and 116-112.