The respective teams for Callum Smith and David Morrell let Friday’s deadline come and go without a response.
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has confirmed that the long-ago ordered interim light heavyweight title fight will now head to a purse bid hearing. Matchroom Boxing and Warriors Boxing – representing Smith and Morrell, respectively – were given until close of business Friday to notify the sanctioning body whether any progress was made during the extended negotiations period.
Their silence ultimately spoke volumes.
“As no official communication was received from either party by the established deadline, the WBO will now proceed to order purse bid proceedings in accordance with our rules,” Olivieri informed BoxingScene and other outlets.
Should the bout push forward, the winner will become one of three mandatory challengers in waiting to Dmitry Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs). The lineal and unified WBA, IBF and WBO champion has recovered from surgery and has resumed training for a planned January return.
That said, interest in the matchup does not seem as high as when the fight was first on the table earlier this summer.
England’s Smith, 31-2 (22 KOs), currently holds the secondary version of the WBO belt but has not fought his February 22 unanimous decision win over then-unbeaten countryman Joshua Buatsi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The victory saw the 35-year-old Scouser re-emerge on the title stage, though not necessarily any closer to fighting for the primary version of the belt.
Michael Eifert is currently next in line as the IBF mandatory, given the rotation system applied in the case of unified champions.
Morrell, 12-1 (9 KOs), has been slightly more active than Smith, with two fights on the year. The 27-year-old Cuban southpaw rebounded from a February 1 defeat to Benavidez with a nail-biting, split decision win over unbeaten Imam Khataev on July 12 in Queens, New York.
The latter affair took place on a show funded by Turki Alalshikh, Morrell’s second fight in that universe within his past three ring appearances. Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season presented the February 22 card that featured Smith-Buatsi.
Despite mutual interest in Smith-Buatsi, rumors failed to materialize for a potential landing date on the November 22 Ring IV show in Riyadh. Subsequent reports suggested the fight could take place in January.
However, Matchroom Boxing’s four-event announcement on Friday did not leave room for a fight of this magnitude. It remains possible that it could land on a forthcoming Riyadh Season show, though there is little to suggest thus far that the fight remains a priority.
