(February 26th) Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith defends his WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Championship against David Morrell on his home turf in Liverpool as part of a huge North-West double for Matchroom Boxing in the UK this April – with Cruiserweight sensation Pat Brown topping the bill in his hometown of Altrincham, live worldwide on the Global Home of Boxing, DAZN.

On Saturday, April 18th, Smith fights in Merseyside for the first time in seven years, with his homecoming set against his dangerous Cuban rival Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs) at the M&S Bank Arena.

The WBO-ordered fight in Liverpool will determine the next challenger for Dmitry Bivol.

Callum Smith believes the long and winding road back to Liverpool will guide him to the ultimate fight in the Light-Heavyweight division against ruler Dmitry Bivol.

The 35-year-old, Smith is determined to realise his dream of becoming a two-weight World Champion and faces David Morrell in a mega-fight at the City’s M&S Bank Arena on Saturday, April 18 – live on the Global Home of Boxing, DAZN – for the WBO Interim Title.

And ‘Mundo’ Smith, part of the famous Scouse Smith fighting family, knows he faces a challenging night in front of his Merseyside faithful when he collides with his Cuban rival – but is ready to put on a performance worthy of his first on Merseyside for six years.

“This fight has been long overdue,” said Smith, speaking to Matchroom Boxing.

“Obviously I’ve come off of a good win [against Joshua Buatsi] and didn’t expect to be out of the ring for this long. But it’s a good fight and a fight I am really looking forward to. It’s nice to finally see my own face on a fight poster and get confirmation it’s happening. So it’s going well and I am looking forward to putting on a performance.

“It was 2019 the last time I fought in Liverpool, so I’m excited to be boxing again in front of my own fans. I’ve enjoyed fighting all over the world, but this one is long overdue to be back. I’m a big fan of fighting abroad, but nothing beats fighting in front of your own in Liverpool.

” It’s a big fight and a big fight to bring back to the City, so I’m sure they will all get behind myself and the other fighters on the card. Hopefully we can get a great crowd there for it.”

Tickets are officially on General Sale now with promoter, and Matchroom Sport Chairman, Eddie Hearn expecting a bumper crowd following the exciting undercard additions of Peter and Joe McGrail (who faces Aaron Hayden), Molly McCann’s first Boxing fight on Merseyside as she takes on Ashleigh Johnson, plus young Heavyweight sensation Leo Atang and popular Runcorn Middleweight Jack Power.

Smith is confident he will do the business in the Main Event – but knows Morrell is coming with the intention of spoiling his homecoming parade.

“He [David Morrell] is a good fighter with good skills,” said Smith.

“He has good experience and has fought at a good level since his second or third fight in, which shows just how good a fighter he is. So he is going to pose some problems for me. But I believe I can beat anyone in the world, and the goal for me is still the same to become a two-weight World Champion. To do that, I need to beat David Morrell.

“Stylistically, I think it will be a very good fight to watch and we should gel pretty well. But it is a fight that I fully expect to come out on top.”

Although Smith does not want to underestimate Morrell by looking too far ahead, he concedes that he does have another mega-fight on his mind – in a dream match with Dmitry Bivol.

“For the time being, Dmitry Bivol is the man in the division,” added Smith.

“He’s got most of the belts, so it all depends on what he is going to do. For the winner of this fight, they could fight him or get elevated for the belt. I wouldn’t mind either option, to be honest with you!

“To become a World Champion again is the biggest goal of mine. But ideally I would love to fight the man in Dmitry Bivol. He’s a great fighter and someone who I have shared the ring with as an amateur for a long time, so he’s someone I would love to fight as a pro. I think our styles will make a great fight. So, there is a big carrot dangling – but I know I just need to beat David Morrell first.

“The wait for this fight has taken a little longer than I would have expected but I am very confident that I will win and go on to become a two-weight World Champion.”

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

About Matchroom Boxing

After the success of snooker in the 1980s, Matchroom Sport moved into boxing with two small hall shows followed by Frank Bruno v Joe Bugner at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground – the biggest boxing event of 1987. That launched the company into the boxing big-time, a position it has maintained ever since.

Through the 1990s Matchroom Sport’s boxing roster featured many of the biggest names in the sport including Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and Naseem Hamed, all in world title fights and it continues to work with some of the biggest names in UK boxing including Audley Harrison, the 2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight gold medalist.

Over the years, Matchroom Sport has built up long-standing relationships with broadcasters around the world and with the advent of the Prizefighter phenomenon, the company’s boxing division has never been in a stronger position.

From fantastic six round scraps between the sport’s journeymen, up to multi-million-dollar World Championship contests featuring the above fighters, the Pro Box series has it all. Each show is packed with the very best in boxing action in a series that encompasses almost 25 years of Matchroom Sport’s commitment to bringing the highest quality to the global television market.