NEW YORK \u2014 Suddenly, Eddie Hearn holds quite a few cards at 140 pounds.<\/p>\n
The Matchroom chief sat ringside as his fighter, Dalton Smith, went toe-to-toe with Subriel Matias<\/a> and lived to tell the tale, winning the WBC junior welterweight title by fifth-round stoppage<\/a> on Saturday night in New York. Hearn wants Smith to recuperate, but in the meantime Hearn will be working hard on the selection of his next opponent. Although the junior welterweight division has a ton of big names to choose from, Hearn likes the idea of giving Smith the chance to win another world title.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got Richardson Hitchins,\u201d Hearn told The Ring<\/a> immediately after. \u201cThat would be a huge unification fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Hitchins, The Ring\u2019s No. 1 ranked 140-pounder and current IBF champion, was hoping to have a fight date by now.<\/p>\n After successfully defending his strap against George Kambosos<\/a> last summer, Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) was expected to make an appearance on \u2018The Ring 6<\/a>\u2019 on January 31 at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n However, just when Hitchins looked to be on the verge of signing to fight Jamaine Ortiz, the deal fell through. Since then, Hitchins has said he wants to take on a big name.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn\u2019s Barclays Center fell silent as Smith<\/a> dropped and stopped his man in an early Fight of the Year contender. Once the fight was over, Hearn rushed the ring to congratulate his new champion. <\/p>\n