Dalton Smith says he is open to a unification fight with Shakur Stevenson or Teofimo Lopez after winning the WBC super-lightweight title and believes rival Adam Azim needs to prove himself at world level before they fight.
Smith became Britain’s newest world boxing champion after knocking out Subriel Mathias in the fifth round in Brooklyn.
It extended his unbeaten record as a professional to 19-0 when a right cross dropped Puerto Rico’s Matias and the referee called a stoppage, despite Matias trying to get to his feet.
The Sheffield fighter rocked his opponent with another right hand earlier in the same round.
Smith will target a unification fight with Shakur Stevenson or Teofimo Lopez
Now, all attention is starting to turn to who Smith will face next and whether a unification fight is now on the cards with the winner of the fight between Lopez, who is defending his WBO super lightweight title, and Stevenson in New York on January 31.
The undefeated Stephenson will bid to become a four-weight world champion when he challenges Brookline’s Lopez, who is in the fourth defense of his WBO belt, from the lightweight division.
Smith says he will most likely be in New York to watch that fight and will keep a sharp eye on the two fighters he has in his sights.
Smith’s stoppage win shifted his line of sight for future fights
“I’ll probably be there watching it. It’s a great fight and obviously I have my eyes on it as a potential opponent for the next guys. It’s going to be good and it’s going to be a great fight,” Smith said Ski Sports.
“I favor Shakur (Stevenson) in points.”
Would Smith prefer a particular opponent of the two? He says, just like he did against Matthias, he will fight anyone to achieve his next goal.
“I’ve always said I want to be world champion, WBC world champion and I’ll fight anyone to do it,” he added.
“I did it and it will be the same process for the future. Fight whoever you have to.”
“We’re going one match at a time, but we’ll see how far we can go. I believe in myself to be world champion, that’s what I did.”
“Let’s see what else we can achieve.”
First the ‘Bigger Fights’ because time will tell if Azim is ‘good enough’ for the world title
Talk of a unification fight means the attention is linked to speculation that Smith will fight Adam Azim after the latter fights Gustavo Lemos later this month.
While Smith hopes in British boxing that Azim has what it takes to put himself in the running for a world title in the future, he is currently aiming for “bigger fights”.
Adam Azim currently has 14 wins and 0 losses in his career
“I know Gustavo (Lemos), he’s my sparring partner from the last fight – not the world titles, the ones before,” Smith said.
“I’ve had him for a few weeks. He’s a good guy and obviously I’m here supporting Adam. I don’t want Adam to go down. It’s going to be a good fight.
“I think he’s good enough to win the world title, but time will tell and I want him to go on and achieve those things because it’s better for us.”
“When somebody puts themselves in that position for that fight, then it makes sense. But from now on, you know, I believe I deserve those bigger fights.”
Azim has previously responded to Smith’s comments regarding the possibility of fighting him and believes he has time in his career to reach the same level.
Indeed, he would enjoy leading him in his own fight for unification down the line.
Azim relinquished his European super-lightweight title in April 2024, voiding the mandatory defense against Smith.
“It’s great news for me. The fight is getting bigger. If I win the world title, we’ll have a great unification in Britain,” Azim said earlier.
“A bit like Carl Frampton vs. Scott Quigg. We’ve had Amir Khan vs. Cal Brook; Conor Benn vs. Chris Eubank Jr. You’ve got Nigel Benn and then Chris Eubank Sr. This is next.
“He’s probably aiming for me, but look, I’m still young.”
“He’s 28, I’m still 23. I’ve got a lot of time in my career. He did it at 28. Imagine doing it earlier in my career. I still have years ahead of me.
“I think when we’re done fighting, you’ll see the spark we both have.”