Dalton Smith has a dangerous fight ahead against Alberto Puello on October 24 in Sheffield, yet Eddie Hearn is already discussing a Hillsborough stadium show for next summer. Puello could beat Smith and leave those plans needing a serious rethink.
“If he can get through Puello, I want to go straight into Hillsborough next, you know, early next summer,” Hearn said to Matchroom Boxing.
Hearn makes that ambition conditional on victory, and he acknowledges that Puello is one of the best fighters in the division, with one of its hardest styles to beat. Still, the talk of unifications and stadium opponents feels early when Smith has this much work ahead in his WBC light welterweight title defense.
The win over Subriel Matias gives Smith a major result to build on, but it doesn’t answer every question about him. Smith was taking heavy shots when they exchanged, and his repeated holding interrupted Matias’ pressure. The stoppage was an excellent finish, but it shouldn’t erase the difficulties that came before it.
Puello offers a different test. He is a mover, which means Smith cannot count on having an opponent come forward into punching range. He may have to pursue Puello, get his feet into position, and land before the challenger moves away.
That also changes the usefulness of the holding. Against Matias, grabbing could break up an attack and prevent more punches from coming back. Against Puello, Smith could find himself clinching after being scored on, using up time without doing anything to recover the round.
Puello has seen clinchers before. Smith will need more than those tactics to keep him from controlling the action.
Hearn wants a big international name for Hillsborough and says discussions with the stadium have already taken place. That would be a major night for Smith, but Puello is capable of taking the title himself. Smith needs to show he can handle this style before anyone gets too comfortable discussing next summer.