Matchroom Boxing made it official: Dmitry Bivol defends his unified light heavyweight titles against Callum Smith on December 12 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Everyone knew this matchup was coming, but now Smith finally has an exact calendar date locked in.
This marks Bivol’s second ring appearance following his brutal rematch win over Artur Beterbiev last year. A back procedure slowed his calendar down, which left Smith on standby while putting the trilogy on pause.
Smith brings solid credentials, yet he isn’t who the crowd was craving. Bivol holds one win, Beterbiev holds one win, so fight fans wanted that tiebreaker settled first. Beating Smith keeps Bivol active, but it won’t satisfy everyone holding out for chapter three.
The downtime hurt Smith’s momentum, too. He hasn’t competed since taking down Joshua Buatsi. Taking on David Morrell during the wait never appealed to him because a loss would have erased his title shot entirely.
Sitting tight preserved his golden ticket, though it leaves him walking into his biggest light heavyweight test with noticeable ring rust. Timing Bivol’s footwork without warm-up rounds will be tough.
Both guys share nearly identical ages, so youth won’t decide this one. Smith must capitalize on his height advantage alongside his trademark left hook. Lingering effects from Bivol’s spinal surgery could play a huge role as well.
Smith can’t just trail Bivol around the canvas. If the champion darts in, connects, then vanishes, Smith will quickly fall behind on the scorecards.
December 12 settles things for these two fighters. The true blockbuster boxing fans really crave still sits on ice.
Smith showed his ceiling against both Canelo Alvarez and Beterbiev. When the elite guys close distance, take away his range, or refuse to stand in front of his left hook, his plan disappears. Beterbiev wore him out by applying physical pressure and breaking his guard, while Canelo neutralized him by taking away the left arm and dictating every inch of real estate.
Against Beterbiev, Smith looked battered and overmatched. Now going up against Bivol, he risks looking flat-footed and technically outclassed. The problem for Smith is that sitting on the shelf for eighteen months while waiting for Bivol to heal from back surgery could backfire on him.