Smith Wins In Style To Secure British Super Lightweight Title

Dalton Smith, who hails from Sheffield and is renowned for his love for Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, is one of the hottest young talents in boxing. He’s Sheffield's greatest ever amateur boxer, and Smith, who Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing represents, is expected to go on to fight at world level. But, he’s doing things right and now has the British belt in his collection.

Sheffield is famous for its contribution to boxing over the years, with the likes of Kell Brook, Prince Naz and Johnny Nelson all fighting out of the Steel City and going on to secure world titles. And, it’s fitting that Smith, who is trained by his father Grant, fights out of the Steel City gym. From the beginning, there's been a desire from the Smiths to collect titles on the way to the top. So with the English, WBA Inter-Continental and WBA International in the cabinet, the next target was the British.

The British title, in any weight class, has become somewhat iconic over the years. But it appears nowadays that some fighters are willing to make shortcuts to get to the top. However, after Hearn and Matchroom, via their output agreement with broadcaster Dazn, decided to put on a Next Gen show at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena, it was the perfect opportunity for Smith to headline in his home city while fighting for the vacant British Super Lightweight title against Sam O’Maison.

Smith, 25, headed into the bought as the heavy favourite. He was undefeated with eleven wins on his record, with nine of those coming via knockout, while his opponent for the vacant belt had lost on three occasions and had only recorded one victory in his last three outings. And, as you will expect, Smith dominated the bout from the first bell and could have probably ended proceedings earlier than he did after flooring O’Masion in the third with a looping right lead.

Smith, however, was told by his corner not to rush. And while O’Maison was game and continued to front up, the Sheffielder was much more precise with his shots and rocked his opponent again at the end of the fifth. The sixth round began with the end in sight, and after Smith found the breakthrough again with a straight left and a right to put O’Maison over. When the action resumed, he delivered another big right, and referee Marcus McDonnell stepped in to wave the fight off.

Smith, who is known for being a reserved character and solely focused on his boxing, suggested that he will work with his team to decide what comes next. There’s the potential for him to defend the British title, or he could make another step up to fight for a European or Commonwealth title. But, one thing is for sure. Sheffield certainly has another world champion in its hands. It’s more of a case of when not if.