THE SUBRIEL MATIAS vs Dalton Smith saga appears to be nearing its conclusion, with a date and venue reportedly fixed for their world title showdown.
To say that this has been a drawn-out process would be an almighty understatement, but finally, it seems that Fresh Productions, Matias’ promoter, has put the wheels in motion to deliver an event at the Barclays Center, New York, on January 10.
Originally, it appeared as though the pair would square off on November 22; or at least, that was what Turki Alalshikh had promised shortly after Matias, 23-2 (22 KOs), claimed his WBC belt this past July.
With their matchup instead heading to a purse bid hearing, though, it was later announced that Fresh Productions had won the rights to stage the super-lightweight clash.
Various reports then suggested that the fight would take place at the end of November, then sometime in December, and now – fingers crossed – the first month of 2026 looks to be an accurate proposal.
Boxing Scene were the first to report on the story, revealing that an official press conference is expected to take place at the Barclays Center on November 10.
And yet, at the time of writing, there has been scant information regarding the broadcast situation in the US and UK, while mandatory challenger Smith, 18-0 (13 KOs), remains hesitant to share any further details via social media.
It is worth noting that BoxRec has listed the fight as a ‘ppv.com’ event, though surely all will become clear at the launch press conference next month.
As for the bout itself, it must be said that Matias represents, by far, a career-toughest test for Smith, whose best win came against a faded Jose Zepeda, who he stopped in the fifth round, in 2023.
Since then, the 28-year-old has collected routine victories over limited customers Walid Ouizza and Mathieu Germain, with the most recent of which arriving in April.
Matias, on the other hand, has operated at a much higher level – albeit while suffering a defeat to Liam Paro last year – and comes off a contentious majority decision win over Alberto Puello.
