Dmitry Bivol and Callum Smith were the standouts in a big flurry of boxing news on Thursday.
The WBO has confirmed that its champion, Bivol, and interim titlist Smith have reached an agreement for their mandated light heavyweight title clash, with a date and venue to be confirmed.
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The pair won their belts on the same fight card in February 2025, when Bivol became undisputed champion by defeating Artur Beterbiev in their rematch, and earlier that night, Smith upset Joshua Buatsi to take the WBO interim title.
Although 18 months have passed since that memorable fight card, the pair have combined for just one fight — Bivol’s unanimous decision win over Michael Eifert in May in Russia.
Smith has been waiting for his WBO mandatory to be enforced and thus has not fought since. He was announced to defend his belt against David Morrell in April but was forced out with injury. Morrell decided to fight Zak Chelli a couple of weeks after his bout with Smith was supposed to take place and ended up on the wrong side of the biggest upset of 2026, when Chelli TKO’d him in the final 40 seconds.
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotes both fighters. Hearn has previously told the media that he would look at staging Bivol-Smith in Russia, Monaco or the UK, with Russia being the frontrunner. There remains a stumbling block to that, though.
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When Bivol fought in Russia earlier this year, the WBO chose not to have its belt on the line because of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The WBO would have to alter its stance for Matchroom to stage Bivol-Smith in Russia.
Sebastian Fundora and Jermall Charlo to return in October
Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions confirmed Thursday its second non-pay-per-view fight card as part of its new deal with DAZN. The card will also stream on TNT Sports.
In the main event on Oct. 17 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Sebastian Fundora will defend his WBC super welterweight title against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj.
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Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) became WBC and WBO champion with his upset win over Tim Tszyu in 2024. “The Towering Inferno” vacated his WBO title in 2025 rather than fight Xander Zayas but has made three successful defenses of his WBC crown. Fundora was last in action in March, stopping Keith Thurman in six rounds.
Hadribeaj (23-0-1, 8 KOs) defeated Bakary Samake in May in Germany to earn his mandatory shot at Fundora. The Albanian, now based in the U.S., is little known and will enter his first title challenge as a major underdog.
Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) was set to fight Koen Mazoudier (16-4-1, 6 KOs) on the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Tim Tszyu undercard in July, however Charlo was unable to enter Australia due to visa issues. That bout has now been rescheduled for Oct. 17.
Rounding off the triple-header, Brandon Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) puts his WBA featherweight title on the line against former WBO bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda (42-5, 23 KOs).
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Figueroa knocked out Nick Ball in Liverpool, England, in February to claim the championship and become a two-division world champion. Kameda hasn’t fought since losing a majority decision to Angelo Leo for the IBF belt in May 2025.
In one of the most intriguing double-headers of 2026 thus far in the boxing world, Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi will meet for the vacant WBA lightweight title, while Ricardo Sandoval will put his unified flyweight crown on the line against mini-flyweight double champion Oscar Collazo, Golden Boy announced Thursday.
The DAZN-streamed fight card will take place on Oct. 10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
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Schofield (19-0, 13 KOs) and Bahdi (20-0, 15 KOs) are the top two contenders with the WBA. Schofield was initially named mandatory for previous champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, but with Davis’ prolonged inactivity and outstanding legal issues, Schofield was named champion in recess.
Collazo (15-0, 12 KOs) will move up two weight classes to challenge for the WBA and WBC flyweight titles and establish his credentials as a pound-for-pound fighter.
Sandoval (27-2, 18 KOs) upset Kenshiro Teraji in July 2025 to capture both championships and is set to make his first defense this October.
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