Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith: Fight date, ring walk time, how to watch, undercard

A pair of seasoned British Boxers, Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith, are set to open the Last Crescendo boxing card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a bang as they compete for Buatsi's interim WBO light heavyweight title.

Buatsi has just 19 professional fights to Smith's 32, but Buatsi did earn himself a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in the light heavyweight division.

Smith, meanwhile, is looking to pick up a quality win over a strong opponent in light heavyweight competition after losing to a top-tier fighter in the form of Last Crescendo headliner Artur Beterbiev in early 2024.

Here, we have all you need to know for this undercard bout for Buatsi's belt.

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith date

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025.

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith time

The ring walk for Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith is scheduled to take place around 11:45 AM ET/10:45 AM CT/8:45 AM PT.

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith venue

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

How to watch Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith, streaming

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith will be streamed on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

Are there any belts on the line for Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith?

Yes. Joshua Buatsi will be defending his interim WBO light heavyweight title.

Joshua Buatsi record

19-0 (13 KOs)

Joshua Buatsi turned professional in 2017, not long after earning a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Buatsi won his first title in just his seventh pro bout, beating Andrejs Pokumeiko via first-round TKO for the vacant WBA International light heavyweight belt at the O2 Arena in London. He successfully defended it in his next two fights before beating Liam Conroy to add the vacant British light heavyweight title to his collection.

In his first fight in the United States, Buatsi beat Marco Antonio Periban via fourth-round TKO, and he continued to win and retain the WBA International belt in his ensuing three fights.

Buatsi's first fight to go past 10 rounds was the 15th fight of his professional career, in which he beat Ricards Bolotniks via 11th-round TKO. He followed that up with three consecutive unanimous decision wins, two in 12-round fights and one in a 10-rounder.

In his most recent win, on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois in September 2024, Buatsi beat Willy Hutchinson via split decision at Wembley Stadium.

Callum Smith record

30-2 (22 KOs)

Callum Smith started his professional boxing career in late 2012. By the middle of 2014, he had a 10-0 record with eight stoppages, including six in a row that happened in the first round.

In Smith's eighth fight, he beat Patrick Mendy via first-round TKO to win the vacant English super middleweight belt, and he won his next fight against Ruben Eduardo Acosta to win the vacant WBC International super-middleweight title.

Smith continued to win throughout 2015, eventually beating Christopher Rebrasse for the WBC Silver super middleweight title in Liverpool, England. He successfully defended it against Rocky Fielding in his next fight while also winning the British super middleweight title via first-round KO in that bout.

He added another belt to his collection again via first-round TKO by beating Hadillah Mohoumadi in 2016 to gain the European super middleweight belt, earning himself a title shot for the WBC super middleweight title in the process.

Smith continued that winning run throughout the 2016 World Boxing Super Series, and he won the tournament, the WBA super middleweight title, and The Ring magazine super middleweight title by beating George Groves via seventh-round KO in the final.

The Liverpool-born boxer retained those belts with a TKO win over Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam in June 2019 and with a unanimous decision victory over John Ryder in November of that year. Then, Smith finally received his title shot.

Unfortunately for Smith, it was against one of the world's best boxers: Canelo Alvarez. Smith went the distance but lost via unanimous decision, which meant Alvarez took the WBA and The Ring super middleweight belts from Smith along with the vacant WBC super middleweight belt.

After that, Smith decided to move up to light heavyweight in 2021. He has gone 3-1 at that level, with the one loss coming against Artur Beterbiev in a January 2024 bout for Beterbiev's WBC, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles.

In his most recent fight, Smith beat Carlos Galvan via fifth-round TKO in November 2024.

Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith full fight card

• Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol; Undisputed light heavyweight title fight, for Beterbiev's WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring belts
• Martin Bakole vs. Joseph Parker
• Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley; For Stevenson's WBC lightweight title
• Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz; For Adames' WBC middleweight title
• Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov; For Ortiz Jr's WBC world interim super welterweight title
• Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel; For the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith; For Buatsi's WBO light heavyweight interim title