WBO SETS FEB 2 PURSE BID FOR CALLUM SMITH VS DAVID MORRELL FIGHT
The WBO has officially called for a purse bid on February 2, 2026, to settle the interim title fight between Smith and Morrell.
The World Boxing Organisation just called for a purse bid on the interim light heavyweight fight between Callum Smith and David Morrell. The auction’s set for February 2, 2026, in San Juan, 11 a.m. sharp. After months of back-and-forth, missed deadlines, and nothing but a long stalemate, the WBO finally stepped in and took the process out of the fighters’ hands.
This all started in July 2025 when Morrell beat Imam Khataev and became Smith’s mandatory challenger. The WBO ordered the fight and then planned a purse bid for December. But then the teams said they’d reached a deal on their own, so the bid got scrapped. That deal? Never signed. Time kept passing, no date in sight, and eventually Morrell’s team got fed up and asked the WBO to step in again. Now, negotiations are over. The fight goes to open bidding.
The WBO isn’t messing around this time. They set the minimum bid at $300,000, and whoever wins has to put down a 20 per cent deposit right away. Once a promoter wins, they’ve got 60 days to put the fight on the calendar. Miss that deadline, and someone else gets the rights. No wiggle room, no more stalling.
The delay’s been a big deal, especially for Smith. At 35, he’s close to landing a huge fight with unified champ Dmitry Bivol—a payday bigger than anything he’s seen. But Morrell is right in his path. He’s younger, hits hard, and people see him as a real threat—not just some interim defence you can coast through.
That’s why Smith’s team hesitated. Losing to Morrell wouldn’t just mean giving up the interim belt. It could knock Smith out of the title picture for good and kill his momentum.
Now, with the purse bid, there’s nowhere left to hide. Smith has to deal with Morrell now or risk losing everything he’s worked for.
THE GYM TRUTH: HOW FABIO WARDLEY SURVIVED BRUTAL EARLY SPARS TO BUILD A CHAMPIONSHIP CHIN
Fabio Wardley opens up about getting beaten up by Daniel Dubois in old spars ahead of their WBO heavyweight title fight.
Fabio Wardley isn’t shy about his history with Daniel Dubois. He knows Dubois had the upper hand during their early sparring days, but he’s telling him not to get too comfortable banking on those old sessions as they head into their WBO title fight on May 9.
Both grew up in England, so naturally, their paths crossed while they were climbing the ranks. Wardley admits Dubois “punched him up” nearly ten years ago in those sparring matches. Still, he insists Dubois shouldn’t read too much into what happened back then. Times have changed.
“I’ve got no problem saying he beat me up. But I wouldn’t want him to think those old sparring sessions mean anything now,” Wardley said to BoxingScene. “That was me, just starting, barely having any experience, while he already had an amateur career under his belt, junior champion, GB champion, all those accolades. I was just a guy who picked up some gloves and thought, ‘Let’s give this a go with Dubois.’”
Wardley’s got a few years on Dubois, 31 now, three years older. Funny enough, they both went pro on April 8, 2017. The big difference? Wardley skipped the amateur circuit and jumped straight into pro fights, while Dubois had fought 18 times as an amateur before turning professional.
Wardley’s pretty open about the old training days. He admits Dubois boxed better back then, but he never saw him as some unbeatable star. Among all the hitters Wardley sparred with, guys like Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte, and Filip Hrgovic, Dubois was just another tough competitor. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“He was one of the big punchers, sure, but there were plenty of those at the time,” Wardley said. “You had Chisora, Whyte, Hrgovic, Riakporhe, even all of them could really hit. Dubois was solid, but not head-and-shoulders above the rest.”
Wardley also remembers getting rocked by cruiserweights, like Richard Riakporhe. He laughs about how green he was, soaking up punches without moving his head and feeling the effects afterwards. That was years ago, though. He’s not the same fighter.
Going into his first defence of the WBO regular heavyweight title, Wardley has a 20-0-1 record. He picked up the interim belt by stopping Joseph Parker in the eleventh round in October 2025, which stirred some controversy, before getting promoted to full champion.
Dubois stands at 22-3 as he approaches his seventh world title shot. He’s coming off a tough loss, knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk in the seventh round for the undisputed heavyweight crown last July. That’s his second loss to Usyk in just five fights.
So yeah, Dubois once got the better of Wardley, but when the bell rings on May 9, the old stories won’t matter much. Wardley’s out to prove he’s a different guy now.
NAOYA INOUE SURVIVES JUNTO NAKATANI CHALLENGE TO KEEP UNDISPUTED FEATHERWEIGHT CROWN
Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed junior featherweight title in a classic unanimous decision victory over Junto Nakatani in Tokyo.
Naoya Inoue showed up at the Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama with a big smile on his face; everyone could tell he was riding high after last night’s fights.
He sat next to his brother, Takuma Inoue, the WBC bantamweight champ, and both of them had just defended their world titles at the Tokyo Dome. For Naoya, the night was all about facing his toughest opponent yet at junior featherweight. He managed to edge out Junto Nakatani in a fight that went back and forth and walked away with a unanimous decision to keep his undisputed crown.
This was a huge deal: two guys from Kanagawa squaring off in what people called the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. Honestly, the match delivered. The momentum swung between them; both had their moments. In the end, Inoue did just enough to pull ahead on the scorecards.
After such a close fight, everyone’s talking about a rematch. Nakatani seemed to be finding his rhythm in the middle rounds, but then there was an accidental head clash in the 10th that cut him. That’s when Inoue took control and finished strong.
“I’m not sure yet. If enough people want it, a rematch could happen." Inoue said he’s now 33-0, with 27 KOs. “Like I said last night, I’ve got options, but nothing is decided. I’m thinking about a new stage, and I’ll talk with Mr Ohashi about that.”
That “new stage” probably means moving up in weight. But judging by Saturday, he might still have business to settle in his own division.
There was one moment that summed up the fight. Both guys were trading punches at a high level, slipping and countering at the same time. Nobody landed, and they stopped to share a quick smile. It was surreal, but it showed just how much respect they had for each other.
“I was fighting while really feeling Nakatani’s skill and spirit,” Inoue said. “I’m pretty sure he felt the same. We both enjoyed that little space where neither could hit the other. That smile just happened.”
Despite all the mutual respect, Inoue took over when he had to. After Nakatani got cut in the 10th, Inoue had his best round; he hurt Nakatani several times and messed up his orbital bone with a sharp left hand.
“I didn’t go in with the sole intention to knock him out,” Inoue admitted. “It was complicated, a feeling I’ve never had before.”
