Dalton Smith: Looking To Make A Statement In Sheffield

Dalton Smith: Looking To Make A Statement In Sheffield

By Louis Devereux

Dalton Smith, in his relatively short career thus far, has headlined a televised show at the Sheffield Arena, won an English title, won a British title and defended it twice, and proven himself one of the most talented young fighters in the country.

The former standout amateur has racked up an impressive stack of domestic names on his resume, and his next challenge comes in the form of Sam Maxwell. The 17-1 former British, Commonwealth and WBO European champion is coming into this weekend’s fight as a big underdog, with his career losing a lot of momentum in recent years. He won the British and Commonwealth titles in August of 2021 in a controversial victory over Akeem Ennis-Brown, where the majority of fans had him losing convincingly. Since then, he has only fought twice: a knockout loss to 15-5 Alejandro Meneses and a six-round points victory over 13-4 fellow Brit Shaun Cooper in February.

Maxwell, like Smith, was very successful as an amateur and holds a professional record of 17-1, but the odds are certainly against him. Smith is 1/12 on to win in his hometown on Saturday, and although he is still expected to go on to great things, his last two performances have been lacklustre, and have slowed the hype behind Smith somewhat. His fight with Kaisee Benjamin in November of 2022 was forgettable, to say the least, and his most recent performance against the relatively unknown challenger Billy Allington left fans feeling rather deflated. The fight was incredibly one-sided, but it felt as if Dalton never really got out of first gear, and the lack of a knockout was disappointing to many.

All this considered, it may be the case that Dalton will be eager to prove a point on Saturday and make a statement in front of his home fans. A win this weekend would see him win the British title outright and would surely set him up for bigger things in the future.

Smith is not yet ranked with any of the major governing bodies and sits just outside the world’s top 50 on Boxrec so he may not yet be on the brink of a world title, but things can happen very quickly in boxing and with the backing of a major promoter, opportunities can often appear seemingly from nowhere. It is no secret that he has his sights set firmly on a big fight at Hillsborough and if he can get the hype train back on track with a big knockout win at the Sheffield Arena this Saturday, then he puts himself one step closer to that dream stadium fight. Sheffield has been crying out for a boxing star since the days of Kell Brook and Prince Naseem, and Dalton Smith needs a statement victory this weekend if he wants to be that star.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing