From BBC Sport · · 2m
Smith defends world title at home against Puello
Unbeaten Dalton Smith makes his first WBC light-welterweight title defence in Sheffield against former champion Alberto Puello on Saturday.
In brief
Unbeaten Dalton Smith makes his first WBC light-welterweight title defence in Sheffield against former champion Alberto Puello on Saturday. Dalton Smith defends his WBC light-welterweight title against former champion Alberto Puello in Sheffield on October twenty-fourth, nine months after winning the belt by stopping…
Smith returns home as champion
Dalton Smith, twenty-nine, defends his WBC light-welterweight title against former champion Alberto Puello in Sheffield on Saturday, twenty-fourth October. Smith won the belt in January by stopping Subriel Matias in Brooklyn.
Fight was delayed by injury
Smith and Puello were originally scheduled to fight in June at the Utilita Arena, but an injury suffered in training by Smith forced the bout to be postponed to October.
Puello is a former champion
Dominican Puello, thirty-two, held the WBA and WBC titles. He won the WBA belt by beating Batyr Akhmedov in twenty twenty-two and later defeated Gary Antuanne Russell to claim the WBC interim title before losing…
Smith's record and path to title
Smith is unbeaten with nineteen wins from nineteen fights, fourteen by knockout.He won English, British, Commonwealth and European titles before travelling to Brooklyn as a challenger against Matias, one of the division's most feared punchers.
How Smith beat Matias
Matias had won twenty-two of his twenty-three professional victories by stoppage.In the fifth round, Smith dropped the Puerto Rican with a huge right hand and the referee stopped the contest.
Puello presents different challenge
Puello is a slick southpaw who relies on movement, speed and counter-punching, unlike Matias who applied relentless pressure. Puello has twenty-five wins from twenty-six professional fights, with eleven knockouts, and is Smith's mandatory challenger.
Ringwalks and broadcast times
Smith and Puello are expected to make their ringwalks at about twenty-two hundred BST on Saturday, twenty-fourth October, though the exact time depends on the undercard length.
Victory could lead to bigger fights
A successful first defence would strengthen Smith's claim to be one of the best fighters in the division and could open the door to much bigger fights.
The headline
Dalton Smith defends his WBC light-welterweight title against former champion Alberto Puello in Sheffield on October twenty-fourth, nine months after winning the belt by stopping Subriel Matias in New York.
