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.
GERVONTA DAVIS ARRESTED IN MIAMI ON BATTERY, KIDNAPPING, AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT CHARGES
Gervonta Davis is in custody after a two-week manhunt. Facing kidnapping charges, the star has been stripped of his WBA title.
Gervonta Davis, who’s a three-division world champ and one of boxing’s biggest names, landed in jail Wednesday in Miami—almost two weeks after police put out a warrant for his arrest. They’re accusing him of battery, false imprisonment, and attempted kidnapping tied to an alleged domestic violence incident from last fall.
Police in Miami Gardens said they tracked Davis for several days across three counties, working with the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force. When they caught up with him in Miami’s Design District, he didn’t put up a fight. They booked him into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre late Wednesday.
Cops say all this goes back to something that happened on October 27 at a strip club in Miami Gardens. The woman at the centre of the case used to date Davis and was working there as a VIP cocktail server that night. Police claim Davis confronted her inside, forced her into a back room, assaulted her, then kept her restrained before taking her outside.
In the report, police say Davis grabbed her by the hair and throat, threatened her, and led her out to the parking lot, where he finally let her go. She found coworkers, got help, and called the police. Officers say she had visible bruises on her arm.
She told investigators she met Davis back in 2022. They dated for a few months in 2025, but she broke things off about a month before the incident and had stopped talking to him.
Besides going to the police, she also filed a civil lawsuit against Davis for battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. Her attorney said the police investigation lines up with what she claimed in her suit.
“The investigation led to a judge signing off on the arrest warrant,” her attorney said back in January. “That matches the allegations in the lawsuit.”
Court records show her lawyers tried over and over to serve Davis with the lawsuit, but couldn’t find him for weeks.
At a press conference on January 14, Miami Gardens police called it a domestic violence case and said they were working with federal agents to track Davis down. When asked for more details Wednesday night, police said they couldn’t share anything else because the case is still active.
Last fall, Davis was in Miami training for a big fight with influencer Jake Paul, set for November at Kaseya Centre. Once the lawsuit hit the news, Davis was taken off the card, and Anthony Joshua stepped in. Davis last fought in March, when he held onto his WBA lightweight title after a controversial draw with Lamont Roach Jr in Brooklyn.
But over the weekend, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza announced they stripped Davis of the title, pointing to the legal case and his long absence from the ring. Davis has only defended the title twice in three years—most recently against Roach, which was more than ten months ago—and he doesn’t have another fight lined up.
This isn’t Davis’s first run-in with the law. He’s had several domestic violence allegations in Florida and elsewhere, though many were later dropped. In 2023, he got three years’ probation and some house arrest for a hit-and-run in Baltimore.
Right now, it’s not clear if these new Florida charges will mess with his probation in Maryland or delay any future fights. Jail and court records didn’t say when he’ll first appear in court in Miami-Dade.
Miami Gardens police say their investigation is still going and aren’t commenting further.
OFFICIAL: TYSON FURY TO FIGHT ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV LIVE ON NETFLIX APRIL 11
Tyson Fury is back! The "Gypsy King" ends his retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 in Netflix's first live UK show.
Netflix keeps pushing deeper into the sports world, and boxing is turning out to be a real crowd-pleaser. Now, on April 11, they’re gearing up for another big night: Tyson Fury is stepping out of retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov. It’s not just another fight—this will be Netflix’s first-ever live event in the UK.
Fury seems pumped. “Excited to be back,” he said in a statement. “Heart’s always been and always will be in boxing. Someone go tell the king that the ace is back!” The last time he fought was back in December 2024, but you can tell he still feels right at home in the ring.
Gabe Spitzer, who handles sports at Netflix, is just as thrilled. He called Fury one of the most resilient and fascinating fighters of his generation. “His career is all about beating the odds, and there’s just something electric about watching him fight,” Spitzer said. “We can’t wait to see him back for this homecoming, and we love giving our members a front-row seat to the next chapter of the Gypsy King’s story.”
The event’s getting the royal treatment too—Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman, Turki Alalshikh, is presenting, along with Sela and The Ring. Alalshikh’s name comes up a lot in combat sports these days. Saudi Arabia keeps landing some of the sport’s biggest fights, and the country even helped launch the Zuffa Boxing promotion with TKO.
“We’re happy Tyson decided to come out of retirement for what should be an exciting heavyweight clash against Makhmudov,” Alalshikh said.
Fury hasn’t fought since those back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, but his name still draws a crowd. A comeback fight in the UK—his home turf, where he hasn’t fought since 2022—only adds to the buzz.
For Netflix, Fury vs. Makhmudov is another notch in their belt. Last year, they pulled in huge numbers with several boxing shows, especially the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua fight in December. That one alone racked up over 33 million views around the world. Clearly, Netflix is betting big on boxing, and fans seem happy to watch.