Eddie Hearn previews Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello

Hearn: "Back-to-back wins over Matias and Puello would be one hell of a statement!"

Eddie Hearn has dangled the carrot of a huge stadium Unification fight at Hillsborough next for Dalton Smith if he can defeat an “elite” operator in former two-time World Champion Alberto Puello this Saturday – live worldwide on DAZN.

Sheffield hero Smith defends his WBC World Super Lightweight Championship for the first time in a homecoming clash with dangerous Dominican Puello at the Utilita Arena.

The pair faced off outside the arena to kick-start fight week before they go head-to-head at Thursday’s press conference.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Hearn, speaking to Matchroom Boxing, revealed he is excited about their main-event showdown in the Steel City and believes Smith deserves a dream stadium fight at his beloved Sheffield Wednesday FC if he can overcome Puello.

“This is a brilliant fight,” said Hearn, speaking to Matchroom Boxing’s official YouTube channel.

“It is one of the fights of the year on British soil. It is a very, very, very tough homecoming defence.

“We knew that when Dalton went into the Subriel Matias fight, this was part of that backlog, if you like, with the WBC.

“Many people thought that the victory for Matias over Puello was quite a controversial one. It was certainly a very close fight. The WBC decided that the winner of Matias against Dalton would have to fight Puello.

“What Dalton did back in January was quite incredible, and now we have what is a brilliant fight. It is one of the top fights in the division and a really tough homecoming defence.

“Historically, you would get an easier one after having to fight Matias in New York. But that just shows you the ability and skill of Dalton Smith. Back-to-back wins over Matias and Puello would be one hell of a statement in the 140lbs division.

“Although that was earlier this year, it seems like a lifetime ago. When you think back to that moment, it was how the fight unfolded. You’re in a situation where everybody felt that Dalton Smith had the fundamentals to outbox Subriel Matias.

“But he needed to do that without getting drawn into a war. And we knew the war would be coming – we just felt it needed to come in the championship rounds. Then, all of a sudden, after a great first round, the war ensued and Dalton was in the trenches.

“I’ll be honest, I was watching the fight thinking, ‘This is not how we want things to go.’ It was an all-out war, and Dalton was under a huge amount of pressure. But he just bit down on his gumshield and basically smashed Matias to pieces in his own game. It was such a wonderful performance. It was a method that I didn’t expect in terms of the victory, and that was what was so incredible about it.

“We know how good Dalton Smith is. Technically, he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UK, no question about it. He’s a top, world-class fighter. But can he stand with a guy who has that sort of knockout ratio and is renowned for being a huge puncher, go toe-to-toe with him and come out on the other side?

“For me, that was one of the top wins on away soil by a British fighter of all time. The way that he did it, picking up a WBC World Title, I feel like he deserves a huge amount of credit for that win. And now this is an important moment for British boxing to see one of our top young world champions defending his belt in a really tough fight.

“Style-wise, Puello can be extremely awkward. He can punch a bit as well. I think, with Puello, Dalton needs to be aggressive. You can’t let him old-man you in there. Dalton’s at home and he’s the champion. Now he needs to go and deliver a championship performance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dalton be more aggressive than people think in this fight.

“Puello is a top fighter, and you’re talking about a real elite guy. But I believe that Dalton Smith has every claim to be the top 140lbs fighter in the world right now. Back-to-back victories over Matias and Puello would be a fantastic run on his résumé.

“[A fight at Hillsborough] is a real carrot. We are having big conversations with the club [Sheffield Wednesday] about a fight. We would love to bring over a big name for it in what would hopefully be a unification fight.

“If he can complete victories over Matias and Puello [back-to-back], then he deserves that kind of night. That’s his dream, and we’ve done extremely well in putting on big stadium events – we know that they work.

“A big Dalton Smith fight at Hillsborough would be sensational.”

Tune in to the press conference live on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel on Thursday, starting at 2.30pm UK time.