Matchroom Promoter Eddie Hearn has an obvious eye for talent, with his promotional outfit currently boasting an astonishing 16 world champions and after a recent breakthrough performance, the 44-year-old believes that he has another on his hands.
British super-lightweight champion Dalton Smith has proven that he is streets ahead at domestic level, defeating Sam O’Maison to pick up the title in 2022 and claiming wins over Kaisee Benjamin, Billy Allington and Sam Maxwell in three defences of the strap.
On Saturday night, Smith made the leap to the world level at 140lbs, where he was tasked with two-division world champion Jose Zepeda.
The Yorkshireman made a relatively easy night’s work of the American southpaw, knocking the 34-year-old out with a vicious liver shot that saw his opponent opt to take a knee and sit out the referee’s ten count.
During the aftermath of the contest, Eddie Hearn announced that Dalton Smith had extended his deal with Matchroom Boxing and on social media he told of his excitement for the future of the undefeated Brit, labelling him a ‘world champion in waiting’.
“Delighted to sign a further extension to our promotional agreement with @_daltonsmith08 – we have helped guide the career of this young man since his professional debut and I truly believe he is a World Champion in waiting! @daznboxing @stnsports_@steelcitygym 🇬🇧 🌍”
The victory saw Smith add the WBC silver super-lightweight title to his collection and as a result he is likely to see a significant improvement on his ranking with the sanctioning body, where he was already ranked 13th before his impressive outing with Zepeda.