Dalton Smith Faces Alberto Puello In First Title Defense

Tricky southpaw presents stylistic test for new WBC champion

Dalton Smith will defend his WBC junior welterweight title against Alberto Puello on June 6 in Sheffield. The fight puts him in with a difficult southpaw in his first defense.

Smith (19-0, 14 KOs) won the belt in January with a clear win over Subriel Matías in Brooklyn. The plan, since then, has been straightforward. He wanted a home fight, and Puello was already in place as the next opponent. That’s a tough first defense for the Matchroom-promoted Dalton. The tactics that he used against Matias, frequent holding, may not be as effective against the mover Puello.

“It’s a good fight for me,” Smith said. “I like southpaws. We were preparing for him before Matías beat him. We’ve been studying him for the best part of a year. He’s a good fighter, but there are no easy fights at world level.”

Puello (24-1, 10 KOs) has not fought since losing his title to Matías on points last July in a questionable decision. The 31-year-old had built his position with wins over Sandor Martin and Gary Antuanne Russell before that loss, and now returns straight into a title fight as the mandatory.

Smith, 29, had explored the idea of fighting at Hillsborough Stadium, but the situation around Sheffield Wednesday made that difficult to finalize. The arena remains the practical option, where he has already headlined several times.

He won the British title there in 2022 by stopping Sam O’maison, added the Commonwealth title against Sam Maxwell, and later knocked out Jose Zepeda in five rounds in what had been his biggest win before facing Matías.

For Smith to be successful against Puello, he’s going to have to come up with a different fight strategy. Puello isn’t a stationary or come-forward type of fighter that Smith can count on to land his shots against.

The date and location are close to being finalized, with the fight expected to move ahead as Smith’s first defense at home.