{"id":545224,"date":"2026-04-22T20:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545224\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T20:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:09:32","slug":"dalton-smith-signs-matchroom-deal-as-hearn-eyes-undisputed-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545224\/","title":{"rendered":"Dalton Smith Signs Matchroom Deal As Hearn Eyes Undisputed Push"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=boxingnews24.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"208\" alt=\"Add EBoxing News 24as a preferred source on Google\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/google.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>  <\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqLAgKIiZDQklTRmdnTWFoSUtFR0p2ZUdsdVoyNWxkM015TkM1amIyMG9BQVAB?ceid=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"128\" alt=\"Follow Boxing News 24 on Google News\" style=\"height:100%; width:auto; display:block;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/follow-google-news.png\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Smith made it clear he had no interest in going elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatchroom Boxing backed me from day one. They allowed me to build at the right pace, to collect titles, to become a regular headliner in Sheffield, and to focus on achieving my dream of becoming WBC World Champion,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about loyalty these days, but my head hasn\u2019t been turned. I\u2019m delighted to commit my future to this winning team as we chase more success together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That line may be the most telling part of the release. Fighters do not usually mention loyalty or outside noise unless those conversations are active around them. Smith is now one of the stronger names at 140 pounds, unbeaten, improving, and based in a city where he can headline regularly.<\/p>\n<p>He also pointed to a bigger target down the road by naming Hillsborough Stadium as a future goal, suggesting Matchroom sees him as more than an arena attraction.<\/p>\n<p>Eddie Hearn moved quickly into selling the next chapter, saying Smith\u2019s upset title win over Subriel Matias in Brooklyn should be the launch point for bigger nights ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe road to Undisputed begins now,\u201d Hearn said.<\/p>\n<p>That is the obvious sales pitch, but first Smith must deal with Puello, an awkward and experienced southpaw who is unlikely to cooperate with long-range plans. If Smith wins cleanly, the pressure for unification fights at 140 will grow fast.<\/p>\n<p>Many fans feel Smith caught Subriel Matias on the slide. Given that his win relied more on tactical holding, it\u2019s hard to see him unifying against someone like Shakur Stevenson, if he could even get a fight against him.<\/p>\n<p>Alberto Puello is a spoiler himself. If Dalton tries to grab and hold a slick southpaw, he might end up losing a decision while the crowd in Sheffield boos.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Galm is a boxing journalist who has covered the global fight landscape since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, industry trends, and fighter psychology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Smith made it clear he had no interest in going elsewhere. \u201cMatchroom Boxing backed me from day one.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-545224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}