Dalton Smith‘s upcoming world title defence has been cancelled due to injury.
Smith became world champion back in January when he claimed a dramatic fifth round knockout win over Subriel Matias at the Barclays Center in New York.
There was plenty of controversy heading into the clash due to Matias being allowed to proceed with the fight after failing an anti-doping test, but the Sheffield man put in a stellar performance to get his hand raised.
The victory saw Smith solidify his status as one of the leading 140lb fighters in the world, and attention then turned to a planned first title defence against mandatory challenger Alberto Puello at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on June 6.
While it would have provided Smith the opportunity to have a homecoming bout in front of his loyal fans, the fight now won’t be taking place as planned, after he suffered an injury during his training camp.
ℹ️ An update to our June 6 card in Sheffield @galal_yafai unified World Title shot against Ricardo Sandoval will now headline at the @SheffieldArena
Wishing @daltonsmith08 a speedy recovery from injury 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Z1pnC1mjNo
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 27, 2026
The rest of the card is set to go ahead, with the original co-main event bumped up to headline status, as Galal Yafai challenges Ricardo Sandoval for the WBC and WBA unified flyweight titles.
Elsewhere on the bill, Josh Padley and Aqib Fiaz square off for the European super featherweight title, Ibraham Nadim takes on Ibraheem Suaimann for the English super featherweight belt, plus the likes of Leo Atang, Adam Maca and Aaron Bowen are in action.
News is expected soon as to when Smith will be fully recovered and able to defend his belt.
