Eddie Hearn hopes to stage a major light heavyweight fight in the UK in 2026.
Hearn and his Matchroom promotional outfit have hosted many UK fight nights up and down the country, as well as huge world titles in London and Manchester, though in recent years the focus has tended to be on mammoth cards out in Saudi Arabia or over in the United States.
Right now, there are five British world title holders, but one man is an interim WBO ruler who is hoping to fight his way to full champion status in the near future.
Speaking to iFL TV, Hearn has explained that he hopes to stage a fight between that fighter, Callum Smith, and David Morrell Jr in Smith’s hometown.
“It’s a tough one the Callum Smith fight cause we had a deal in place for Callum to fight Morell in Saudi Arabia on the ‘AJ’ card, now obviously thats been delayed some of the fights that were planned on there have fallen through.
“We’re trying to reach a deal before bids but the split is favourable to Callum in that he’s champion. 100% we want to bring it to Liverpool. We haven’t done a fight in Liverpool in a very long time and I think Smith Morrell is a brilliant fight.”
This fight was ordered long ago by the WBO, but Smith has not fought since February 2025 when he beat countryman Joshua Buatsi in a fight of the year contender.
Smith has previously lost to the former unified champion of the division, Artur Beterbiev, when they fought in January 2024, though Beterbiev has since lost all the belts to Dmitry Bivol.
