HOPES of seeing Dalton Smith collide with Adam Azim later this year are swiftly fading away, with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn deeming their much-talked-about domestic dustup to be unlikely.
The pair have been on a collision course, according to Hearn, for the last three years, with their potential matchup representing a fierce discussion point among fans.
But while the boxing fraternity continues to debate which super-lightweight operator has the edge, it would appear that we remain no closer to discovering that eagerly awaited answer.
Instead, mandatory challenger Smith, 18-0 (13 KOs), is set to wait in the wings as WBC world champion Alberto Puello dukes it out with dangerous puncher Subriel Matias.
The intriguing matchup will take place on July 12, appearing on a New York card topped by Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda and Hamzah Sheeraz-Edgar Berlanga.
Puello, 24-0 (10 KOs), claimed his green and gold belt following a split decision victory over Sandor Martin in March, while former world champion Matias, 22-2 (22 KOs), has amassed two stoppage wins since losing to Liam Paro last June.
The winner of their clash should then be ordered to face Smith who, since his career-best victory over Jose Zepeda last year, has become the WBC’s leading contender at 140lbs.
So while a potential fight with Azim looks set to be kicked further down the line, it would seem that Smith, at least from his promoter’s perspective, is unlikely to return to action ahead of a shot at world honours.
Azim, meanwhile, is still yet to announce his next opponent, with the 23-year-old’s last outing, against Sergey Lipinets, arguably delivering a career-best performance.
“We like the Azim fight – we’ve been calling for it for three years,” Hearn, who promotes Smith, told Boxing News.
“And now, when they’ve got nowhere to go, [Team Azim] are like, ‘oh yeah, we’ll take the Dalton Smith fight.’ But we’re mandatory for the winner of [Puello-Matias].
“I think [Smith’s] management are thinking, ‘why would we fight Azim now when we’re fighting for the world title next?’
“We also acknowledge that [Smith-Azim is] a big fight, so we don’t rule it out. But it’s very likely that we’ll wait for the winner of Puello-Matias.”
