Dalton Smith has outlined exactly what Adam Azim must do to ‘earn his stripes’ and secure a shot at his WBC world super-lightweight title.
The Sheffield man claimed his belt with a controlled, but no less adventurous, performance against Subriel Matias, dethroning the Puerto Rican with a sensational fifth round finish in New York earlier this month.
Prior to their encounter, many felt that Smith would utilise his superior footwork and ring IQ, hoping to outfox his dangerous opponent through 12 rounds.
But while he did implement this strategy to a certain degree, a desire to trade with Matias in the pocket ultimately allowed him to take care of business in a more emphatic fashion.
Since then, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that Smith’s next outing must be against his mandatory challenger, Alberto Puello, who held the green and gold strap before controversially losing it to Matias last July.
At the same time, though, it would appear that Smith remains on a collision course with Azim, his domestic rival, whose name has been linked with the 28-year-old for the best part of two years.
Azim must first take care of business against Gustavo Lemos on January 31 but, after that, he could soon find himself in a position to fight for a world title.
Speaking with First Round TV, Smith said this is exactly what the 23-year-old must do to secure their all-British dustup.
“Like I said before: you’ve got to earn your stripes. I’m looking at bigger things at the minute.
“As much as everyone mentions the [Azim] fight, that’ll happen when it’s meant to [happen]. If he got himself in a mandatory position or won a world title himself, [then he’d be deserving of the fight].
“I’ve worked my arse off to get a world title, so I’m not just going to [defend] it if someone’s not earned their place.”
Victory over Lemos should give Azim a number-two ranking with the IBF, positioning him to fight leading contender Lindolfo Delgado for a mandatory opportunity against Richardson Hitchins.
