Dalton Smith is hoping to realise his childhood dreams against Subriel Matias

Dalton Smith is ready for the toughest test of his career against Subriel Matias

Dalton Smith (18-0, 13 KO’s) is preparing to step into a firefight, as the 28-year-old takes on the battle-hardened Subriel Matias (23-2, 22 KO’s) in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 10.

With the WBC super-lightweight world title on the line, a win for the Sheffield fighter would see him crowned as Britain's latest world champion, following in the footsteps of Fabio Wardley, who was handed the WBO heavyweight strap after Oleksandr Usyk chose to vacate the title.

Beating Matias will be far from an easy task. The Puerto Rican pressure fighter has 22 stoppages in just 23 wins, with only two losses to his name - both at the hands of elite opponents.

Unfortunately for the 33-year-old, the fight was thrown in jeopardy after he tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) test in November.

However, much to Matias’s relief, the fight has been allowed to continue, with the WBC issuing a statement revealing that Matias’s consumption of supplements known to be contaminated with Ostarine has been concluded as the culprit, given his relatively low level of the substance.

It's a captivating fight, a clash of styles that is near impossible to predict , though Smith will have played his desired outcome out in his head countless times.

“My aim is to be WBC world champion,” Smith told Sky Sports .

“I believe I can make a statement and stop Matias, but whatever happens, I’m going there to win and make sure my hand’s raised at the end.

"It'd mean everything to me. I've been grafting for this since I first walked into a gym at six," he said.

"I'm doing it for my family, my team, my fans and my city.”