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

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. 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.