CALLUM SMITH is OUT of his light-heavyweight title fight against David Morrell after sustaining an injury in training.
The pair were due to meet for the interim WBO belt on April 18 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
But according to Ring Magazine, Smith has been forced to withdraw after picking up a mystery injury just weeks before the bout.
Former super-middleweight world champion Smith, 35, has been out of the ring since beating Joshua Buatsi, 33, in their February 2025 thriller.
Morell, 28, meanwhile was to fight outside of the US for the first time.
The winner would also have become mandatory challenger for the belt held by Dmitry Bivol, 35.
It remains unclear whether the card in Liverpool – also set to feature the returning Ben Whittaker – will be cancelled or not.
Smith’s frustrating period to return to the ring will now drag on – having previously called out the likes of David Benavidez.
He told FightHub: “Look, take care of David Morrell — fingers crossed — but then I’m in a position where I just want big fights.
“It’ll take a big fight to motivate me. I’d love the Benavidez one, I’ve always said that for many years now.
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There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring.
Tyson Fury will make his return in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov while Oleksandr Usyk takes on the king of kickboxing Rico Verhoeven.
Conor Benn features for the first time since making the switch to Zuffa Boxing and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly won heavyweight crown against fellow Brit Daniel Dubois.
Canelo Alvarez will be hoping to return after his defeat to Terence Crawford and heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk will also defend his straps.
A whole bunch of British stars could also take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim ready to join the very top of the sport.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
April
- Sat 11 – Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov – Netflix
- Sat 11 – Conor Benn vs Regis Prograis – Netflix
- Sat 18 – Callum Smith vs David Morrell – DAZN
- Sat 18 – Manny Pacquiao vs Ruslan Provodnikov
- Sat 25 – Lawrence Okolie vs Tony Yoka – DAZN
May
- Sat 2 – Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani – Undisputed super-bantamweight title – TBC
- Sat 2 – Zurdo Ramirez vs David Benavidez – WBA & WBO Cruiserweight titles – Prime Video
- Sat 9 – Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – WBO title – DAZN PPV
- Sat 16 – Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN
- Sat 23 – Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven – WBC title – DAZN
June
- Sat 6 – Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello – WBC super lightweight title – DAZN
- Sat 13 – Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall – DAZN
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“I think it’s a fight that should’ve happened and probably will happen. Is he a genuine cruiserweight? No. He’s probably a 175, he’s not long come from 168.
“I don’t see Benavidez as a fully fledged cruiserweight so I think there will probably be a lot of people who’d be willing to go up to fight him at that weight division, but I say take care of David Morrell first.
“But, look, there’s a lot of massive fights for me and fights that do excite me and motivate me.”
