Dalton Smith headlines a card in his home City this Saturday evening at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, and he defends his WBC Silver super lightweight title against Canada’s Mathieu Germain in what he hopes will be a stepping stone to world class level.
Matchroom promote Smith vs Germain, and DAZN televise the card live.
Smith (17-0, 13 KOs) has seen his stock constantly on the rise, and after taking the vacant British title with a sixth round stoppage against Sam O’Maison in August 2022, he defended twice before outclassing Sam Maxwell to add the Commonwealth crown in a seventh-round stoppage win in July 2023.
A move into world level followed, as he took the vacant WBC Silver strap with a superb fifth round knockout of former world title challenger Jose Zepeda.
Last time out he needed a round to take the vacant European belt, dropping Walid Ouizza twice on the way to a stunning stoppage win in January.
Smith is mandatory challenger for the WBC world title, but can’t look past Germain (26-2-1, 11 KOs) if he wants to fight for that crown in the near future.
The Quebec native has won eight on the spin since a 2020 stoppage loss to Yves Ulysse Jr, but against limited opposition overall.
He is ranked number 11 by the IBF, and he was also last seen in January, halting Carlos Daniel Aquino in seven rounds in Montreal.
Prediction: Germain has never fought outside of his homeland, and at 35, it will be a tall order for him to upset the 28-year-old hungry Smith. I fancy Smith to impress again, and take out the visitor in the first half of this one.
Warrington returns
The undercard sees former world champion Josh Warrington (31-4-1, 8 KOs) reverse his decision to retire, and he returns in a scheduled ten rounder at super featherweight with Asad Asif Khan (19-6-1, 5 KOs).
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Warrington left his gloves in the ring in a wide points loss to Anthony Cacace last September, and that capped a run of three straight losses for the Leeds man. He now returns with new-found desire, but Khan will be a decent workout, having taken Michael Conlan the full eight rounds last month in a losing effort.
Prediction: Warrington can shake off the rust and record a routine-enough points win here.
Agyarko takes on Kelly at late notice
Caoimhin Agyarko (16-0, 7 KOs) in action for the second time in under three weeks, and he takes a ten round assignment at super welterweight against Ryan Kelly (19-5-1, 8 KOs).
Agyarko has stalled somewhat since taking a split decision win against Troy Williamson at the end of 2023, and only boxed one eight rounder in 2024. He was out at the end of March, taking a wide points win against Harley Collinson.
Kelly has only been stopped once, by Hamzah Sheeraz in 2019, and pushed Kieron Conway all the way before losing a split decision for the Commonwealth middleweight title last November.
Prediction: Agyarko will want to move up the rankings this year, and he can get the job done clearly on the cards against Kelly.
Full undercard preview
The final ten rounder is at lightweight, where Josh Padley (15-1, 4 KOs), fresh off an admirable challenge for the world title against Shakur Stevenson, should return from that defeat with a points win over Marko Cvetanovic (13-0, 6 KOs) at lightweight.
The sole eight rounder is at featherweight, where Giorgio Visioli (6-0, 5 KOs) should be able to see off Kane Baker (19-11-2, KO1) inside schedule.
In six rounders, Joe Howarth (11-1, 4 KOs) should record a points win at lightweight against Mario Valenzuela Portillo (8-6-2, 2 KOs), and Emmanuel Buttigieg (7-0, 1 KOs) can outscore Grant Dennis (19-10, 3 KOs) at middleweight.
