Dalton Smith defends his WBC welterweight world title against Alberto Puello at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on Saturday, 24 October. The undefeated 29-year-old returns to his hometown nine months after stopping Subriel Matias in New York to become world champion.
The fight was originally scheduled for June at the same arena, but a training injury delayed the bout. Puello, the 32-year-old Dominican, is the mandatory challenger. A former WBA and WBC champion, his only professional defeat came against Matias.
Smith won English, British, Commonwealth and European titles while progressing through the domestic rankings. In January, he travelled to Brooklyn as a challenger against one of the division's most feared punchers. Matias had won 22 of his 23 professional fights by stoppage, and Smith was fighting in the United States for the first time. He chose to exchange punches with Matias and dropped the Puerto Rican with a massive right hand in the fifth round before the referee stopped the contest. It was the first time Matias had been stopped as a professional. Smith's undefeated record now stands at 19 wins, 14 by stoppage.
Puello enters the fight with 25 wins from 26 professional bouts, including 11 knockouts. He has held a version of the world title twice: he won the WBA belt by beating Batyr Akhmedov in 2022, and later defeated Gary Antuanne Russell to win the WBC interim title. Promoted to full champion, he then beat Sandor Martin before losing the belt to Matias by majority decision in July 2025. He is a skilled southpaw who relies on movement, speed and counter-punching.
In the welterweight division, Shakur Stevenson holds the WBO title, Russell is the WBA champion, and the IBF title is vacant. Adam Azim is 15-0. Promoter Eddie Hearn has previously spoken about the possibility of Smith one day being the main attraction at Hillsborough, home of Sheffield Wednesday, and Smith has expressed a desire to build the kind of fan support that Ricky Hatton enjoyed at the height of his career.
Also on the card are Giorgio Visioli against Maxie Hughes for the vacant WBC International Silver lightweight title, and Shannon Ryan against Emma Dolan for the British, Commonwealth and IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title. There are also Edward Hardy against Ibrahim Nadim and Aqib Fiaz against Jordan Flynn in the super-featherweight division, Joe Hayden against Will Harrison in the welterweight division, Leo Atang against TBA in the heavyweight division, Connor Mitchell against TBA in the super-featherweight division, and Chris Mulunda against Harley Collison in the middleweight division.
The fight week schedule includes an open workout on Wednesday, a press conference on Thursday and a weigh-in on Friday. Smith and Puello are expected to enter the ring around 22:00 BST, though the exact time depends on the duration of the preliminary bouts. The main broadcast is due to begin around 19:00, and the Utilita Arena doors open at 16:00. Live text commentary begins at 21:00 BST on the BBC Sport website and app, while radio commentary from London starts at 22:00 on BBC Radio 5 Live. The live broadcast is presented by Stacey Copeland, joined by lead commentator Ronald McIntosh, with co-commentators Steve Bunce and former super-middleweight world champion Richie Woodhall.
