WBC mandatory Alberto Puello steps in as Dalton Smith makes first defense in Sheffield
Dalton Smith defends his WBC super lightweight belt against Alberto Puello on June 6 in Sheffield after the sanctioning body enforced the mandatory. The winner keeps the belt and stays at the front of the contender line with no voluntary option.
Smith, 19-0 with 14 knockouts, took the title in January when he broke Subriel Matias down and finished him in five rounds in Brooklyn. Puello, 24-1 with 10 knockouts, dropped the belt to Matias last July and comes straight back into the title fight through the mandatory position.
“New York was a trip of a lifetime, but now it’s about bringing big World Title fights to Sheffield and it’s great to start my reign as champion back at the Utilita Arena,” Smith said. “It’s straight into a mandatory defence so you expect world class opponents. There’s no denying Puello’s a top boxer. He’s a two-time champion for a reason.”
“I’m excited to be fighting for my title again on June 6,” Puello said. “I’m looking forward to becoming a three-time World Champion and making history in the United Kingdom in front of its wonderful fan base.”
The WBC pushed this straight into a required defense, so Smith goes straight back into a high-level fight against a former belt holder with a southpaw look and championship rounds in his legs.
Smith is at his best when he’s letting his hands go and working behind his jab, putting punches together and going downstairs once he has a man reacting. Puello sets traps from the southpaw stance, shoots the straight left down the middle, and looks to pick off opponents as they reach in.
The title stays in rotation, and the next man up comes through the WBC rankings rather than a voluntary pick.
Smith gets no easing-in fight. He goes straight into a real title defense against a southpaw who has already proven he can handle this level.