DALTON Smith is poised to earn his first stab at world honours, and according to Turki Alalshikh, it could arrive as early as November 22.
The boxing paymaster has put together a blockbuster card, headlined by David Benavidez’s WBC light-heavyweight title defence against Anthony Yarde, for that very date.
Along with that, three more world title offerings, including a particularly intriguing showdown between WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr and Devin Haney, will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yet Alalshikh does not appear likely to stop there, as a clash between Subriel Matias and Smith, 18-0 (13 KOs), has suddenly become a possible addition to the stacked event.
The two super-lightweight operators posed for a face-off earlier this morning, shortly after Matius, 23-2 (22 KOs), claimed his WBC world title against Alberto Puello.
Residing in Puerto Rico, the ferocious puncher travelled over to the Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York, and edged a majority decision on the undercard of Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz.
By dethroning Puello, Matius also reached two-time championship status after losing his IBF strap to Liam Paro, who produced a clinical performance through 12 rounds, last year.
As for Smith, a punishing fifth-round stoppage victory over Jose Zepeda, which arrived over a year ago, represents the closest he has come to recording a world-level win.
Since then, two comfortable outings have cemented his position as the WBC mandatory challenger, establishing the 28-year-old as one of the leading contenders at 140lbs.
And while an official announcement is yet to emerge, it would seem that Smith, who Alalshikh declared as the next opponent for Matias, will secure his title shot in November.
