SHEFFIELD — Dalton Smith will make the first defence of his WBC light-welterweight world title against mandatory challenger Alberto Puello at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on Saturday, 24 October. The unbeaten 29-year-old returns to his home city nine months after stopping Subriel Matias in New York to become world champion, in a homecoming originally scheduled for June before a training injury forced a postponement.
Smith travels home with a perfect record of 19 wins from 19 fights, with 14 inside the distance, after becoming the first man to stop Matias as a professional. In Brooklyn in January, he traded with one of the division's most feared punchers — Matias had won 22 of his 23 victories by stoppage — and dropped the Puerto Rican with a huge right hand in a thrilling fifth round before the referee intervened. Puello, the 32-year-old Dominican, arrives with 25 wins from 26 fights, with 11 knockouts, and has twice held a version of a world title, winning the WBA belt against Batyr Akhmedov in 2022 and the WBC interim title against Gary Antuanne Russell before being elevated to full champion, beating Sandor Martin and then losing the belt to Matias by majority decision in July 2025 — his only professional defeat.
Live text commentary will begin at 21:00 BST on Saturday, 24 October on the BBC Sport website and app, with radio commentary from London on BBC Radio 5 Live from 22:00. Stacey Copeland will present the live coverage, joined by lead commentator Ronald McIntosh, with Steve Bunce and former super-middleweight world champion Richie Woodhall providing co-commentary. Smith and Puello are expected to make their ringwalks at about 22:00 BST, depending on the length of the undercard, with the main broadcast scheduled to begin at about 19:00 and doors at the Utilita Arena opening at 16:00.
Puello offers a very different stylistic test to Matias, a slick southpaw who relies on movement, speed and counter-punching rather than relentless pressure. The undercard at the Utilita Arena features Giorgio Visioli against Maxi Hughes for the vacant WBC International Silver lightweight title and Shannon Ryan against Emma Dolan for the British, Commonwealth and IBF Inter-Continental super-flyweight titles, alongside Edward Hardy against Ibrahim Nadim at super-featherweight, Aqib Fiaz against Jordan Flynn at super-featherweight, Joe Hayden against Will Harrison at welterweight, Connor Mitchell against TBA at super-featherweight and Chris Mulunda against Harley Collison at middleweight.
A successful first defence would strengthen Smith's claim to be among the best in the division and open the door to bigger unification opportunities, with Shakur Stevenson holding the WBO title, Russell holding the WBA title and the IBF title currently vacant. It would also sharpen a developing domestic rivalry with unbeaten Londoner Adam Azim, who is 15-0 and has been talked about as a future world champion but has, for now, been moved ahead of by Smith's world-title success. Promoter Eddie Hearn has previously talked about Smith eventually headlining at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium if his profile continues to grow, while Smith has spoken about wanting to build the kind of travelling support Ricky Hatton enjoyed at his peak, and beating a former champion of Puello's quality on home soil would offer a clear measure of that potential.