The two sides were given until Thursday to strike a deal for their mandated WBO light heavyweight title fight. Bivol, the reigning champion, was ordered July 6 to fight Smith, the interim belt-holder. Although they were granted extensions, a deal is still not in place, which forced the WBO to schedule a purse bid for August 27.

Gustavo Olivieri, president of the WBO, announced the news Friday on X. The purse bid is set to take place at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

According to promoter Eddie Hearn, Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs), who gave up his WBC light heavyweight title in April 2025, might opt to drop his WBO belt in order to pursue a rubber match with former undisputed champion and rival Artur Beterbiev.

Russia’s Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) beat Bivol by majority decision in October 2024 to become the fully unified 175-pound champion. Bivol avenged that loss in their immediate rematch, which he won by majority decision in February 2025.

If Bivol does decide to vacate, Hearn believes that Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) would then face Joshua Buatsi for the vacant title. England’s Smith, a former Ring and WBA super middleweight champion, beat Buatsi (20-1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision and won the WBO interim 175-pound championship on the Bivol-Beterbiev undercard in February 2025.

Smith has not fought in the 18 months since he battled Buatsi in one of the most entertaining fights of 2025.

Russia’s Bivol – who owns The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight crowns – has slowly gotten back into a groove.

After undergoing back surgery in August 2025, Bivol returned against IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30 in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The 35-year-old Bivol dropped his man in the first round and won a wide unanimous decision.

Unfortunately for The Ring’s No. 6-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, he recently underwent another surgical procedure.

This one took place on July 23 on his left elbow. Vadim Kornilov, Bivol’s manager, stated that he expects his fighter to be back before the end of the year.