Dalton Smith has Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz and Shakur Stevenson mentioned as future targets, but Alberto Puello could wreck those plans on Saturday night. Eddie Hearn’s public focus on major names increases the stakes for a tricky maiden defense of his WBC light welterweight title.
Smith meets Puello in Sheffield this Saturday, October 24, with the challenger aiming to take back the belt. A partisan home crowd gives Smith an emotional lift, yet it cannot neutralize the tactical headache of Puello’s southpaw movement and disciplined pacing.
“Pitbull Cruz, I love that fight for him. That’s a fantastic fight or even Shakur Stevenson,” Hearn told DAZN when discussing Smith’s path. “So, he has so many opportunities and so many big names.”
Those are fights worth pursuing, but mentioning them before Puello has been beaten makes Saturday sound like a preliminary step toward the real money. Puello is capable of turning it into the night Smith loses access to those opportunities.
The danger is treating Smith’s knockout of Subriel Matias as proof that he will handle a completely different opponent. Puello does not need to give Smith the same openings or remain in punching range long enough for him to find another big finish. Smith may have to work for every clean shot.
A defeat would leave Hearn trying to sell Cruz or Shakur a fight against a challenger rather than a champion. The WBC belt gives Smith something those opponents can gain. Without it, their interest could move elsewhere while he tries to work his way back.
That is why an immediate rematch would likely become Hearn’s priority if Smith loses. There is no confirmed rematch provision in the comments, but commercially, another Puello fight could offer the quickest route to recovering the title and reviving those plans.
Even that route would require Smith to beat a man who had just defeated him. Hearn has identified the paydays. Puello can leave him spending the next year trying to recover the opportunity to pursue them.
Hearn’s mention of Shakur comes with a major financial obstacle. If Stevenson wants $15 million to face Smith, it is difficult to see how that fight gets funded. Dalton would need paying too, and beating Puello would not automatically create enough commercial interest to cover those purses. Hearn can name Shakur as a target, but agreeing on a price could prove tougher than getting either fighter interested.