Dalton Smith is determined to make his dream of fighting at Hillsborough Stadium a reality.
The new WBC super lightweight champion is expected to make his home in Sheffield this summer. He may not be headlining the venue yet, but he has ambitions to bring a big fight to Hillsborough in the long term.
“It would be a dream come true. It would be the cherry on the cake,” Smith said. Sky Sports News.
“Big fight in Hillsboro. You’ve been saying it for years and people just think, ‘He’s talking, he’s talking,’ but for it to become a reality, to fight for a world title, to defend a world title, it’s unbelievable.
“The ball is rolling in the right direction to have a big fight, but one fight at a time.”
Smith is expected to box mandatory challenger Alberto Puello next.
“We’re looking forward to June when we’ll have a big homecoming in Sheffield,” he said. “Nothing has been signed yet. I like awkward left-handers… that’s Puello’s style. Puello has been on our radar for the past year. We are very familiar with him, we have done a training camp for him.
“He is not the kind of person who would embarrass us.”
Smith is now the WBC’s super lightweight world champion.
Smith went to New York last January and picked up his career-high win when he beat Subriel Matias with a stunning fifth-round stoppage to win the WBC world title.
Ahead of the clash, Matias tested positive for a banned substance, but the fight was allowed to go ahead with the WBC saying there were “extenuating circumstances”, noting that Matias had consumed supplements known to be contaminated with Ostarine and that the Ostarine levels reported were “relatively low” in the negative result.
Undaunted, Smith took Matias away in style. “We knew we had to get in the trenches,” he said. “We prepared as best we could. We were confident we could handle whatever situation we faced.
“We knew we were going to get into a shootout, with Matias. It’s funny, but that’s how you can beat him. People said they were mad that we were thinking like that, but sometimes you have to find a way to win.”
Retaining the title would put Smith among the biggest names in the division alongside Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez and some of the more athletic fighters at 140lbs.
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Shaku Stevenson entered the ring singing ‘I Just Can’t Wait to Be King’ from The Lion King ahead of his WBC lightweight title fight against Josh Padley.
“The only thing I have to do is keep winning and there’s going to be a big fight,” Smith said. “I’m in the driver’s seat now. All I have to do now is keep winning and set goals. The sky is the limit.”
“I am a world champion,” he concluded. “It has sunk, but I don’t think it will really sink in until the end of my career. I believe I have a lot more to achieve. In a way, the pressure has eased and I am a world champion. Whatever happens in boxing now is a bonus.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m any less ambitious. I’m hungrier than ever because there’s so much more I can achieve.
“It’s been a struggle to get to this point, but there’s so much more work to be done.”
