A highly palatable pitting featuring two of the top light heavyweights in the thick of the division appears likely, as a fight between David Morrell and Callum Smith is in the works for the first quarter of next year, Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn told The Ring.

“I talked to Turki Alalshikh about staging that fight as part of a Saudi card in early 2026,” said Hearn. “We've pretty much agreed to that, and I think you'll see it hopefully land there. It's a tremendous fight, a brilliant fight.”

Smith is ranked third by The Ring at 175 pounds. Morrell is seventh.

Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) was a finalist to land a date against David Benavidez for the Ring IV card on November 22 in Saudi Arabia, but Anthony Yarde ultimately got the assignment. Smith last fought in February and outlasted the previously undefeated Joshua Buatsi in a slugfest to capture the WBO interim title.

Smith, a 35-year-old from Liverpool, petitioned in May for a mandatory title shot against Ring and unified champion Dmitry Bivol, but the sanctioning body denied the request.

Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs), meanwhile, has had a rocky year. The 27-year-old Cuban southpaw was fortunate to sneak away with a split decision win against Imam Khataev in July during a fight in which he got dropped. Morrell also lost against Benavidez in February by unanimous decision.