WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (15-0, 11 KOs) and World of Boxing have signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA and the Russian will defend his title against Joe Smith Jr (24-2, 20 KOs) with the date and venue to be confirmed at a press conference in New York this Friday. The bout can be seen live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.

Dmitry Bivol: “I am glad to finally meet Joe in the ring. I saw his fights against Fonfara and Hopkins live and always wanted to test my skills against him! Thank you to World of Boxing, Matchroom Boxing USA, and DAZN – I hope to put on a great performance for everybody!”

Joe Smith Jr: “I am very excited for the opportunity to fight Bivol for the world championship. Everything I’ve worked for in and out of the gym was to better myself and become a world champion. All the hard work and my determination will pay off come fight night.”