Dalton Smith looks to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats of Sheffield boxing
Dalton Smith is ready to prove that the weight of Sheffield’s glorious boxing legacy is in good hands on Saturday night when he puts his WBC light-welterweight title on the line in his home town.
When he won the belt in the Barclays Centre in early January, storming into Brooklyn to knock Subriel Matias down in five rounds, Smith joined the pantheon of boxing greats to come out of the Steel City and conquer the world.
Johnny Nelson, ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, Kell Brook, Clinton Woods and Paul Jones were all forged on the mean streets of Sheffield.
Smith is the latest off the production line, shaped by the passion and commitment of his dad into a formidable fighting force.
A proud son of the city, he supports Wednesday and walks into the ring for his fights to the strains of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys’ “When the Sun Goes Down” reverberating around the arena.
His fans will rise to their feet to acclaim their hero, just as he did as a boy growing up, inspired by the champions who came before him.
“I went to quite a few of the Kell Brook ones, obviously the Clinton Woods fights, so there's a lot of history in the arena,” beams Smith, 29.
“I'm pretty sure I went to the Ricky Hatton title fight against Carlos Maussa.
“I've been to quite a few of the arena fights as a kid growing up.
“That's what I've always wanted to do, become a world champion, be the next star of Sheffield, keep that torch shining and I believe I'm doing that.”
It was two decades ago that Smith was among thousands of Sheffielders cheering Woods to an IBF world title.
On Saturday night, Woods will be in attendance when Smith puts his WBC belt on the line against mandatory challenger Alberto Puello.
And it was Woods who Smith shared a special moment with in the days after returning home from beating Matias to win the world title.
“I actually went for a drink with him after coming back from New York,” laughs Smith during this week’s big fight build-up.
“It was one of the first times I've gone out to celebrate with the people and I was with Clinton. It was a bit of a surreal moment. We stayed local. If we went into town it would have been a bit hectic.”
Like all the city’s world champions before them, there is a blue-collar feel to their journey and their hard-working styles.
“I just think it's a hard working city, I think we're pretty grounded people and I think the people get behind the fighters and that's a big part of boxing,” says Smith.
“My dad didn't come from a boxing background and what he's done for himself in the gym, multiple world champions is a legacy in itself so we're both proud. I'm proud of him and I'm sure he's proud of me. We've got much more to achieve and we want to do a lot more for the community and the city of Sheffield.”
He adds: “Clinton was big at the time that I was growing up and I have some great memories going to his fights and I think he'll be there at the weekend to support me so it'll be great.
“Every time I met him, he always gave me his time.
“I'm not saying none of the others didn’t but he was down to earth and I think that's why Clinton was liked so much.
"Down to earth, one of the lads and he still is now.”
Smith is determined to stay as ‘one of the lads’, especially after scaling the mountain top.
“Definitely getting recognised a lot more now. But it's part of the game, I always give time to people, it's the least I can do,” he says.
“It's a bit weird, I've had it for a few years now but of course sometimes it's weird but you get used to it. If someone wants to come for a picture the least I can do is give them a bit more time.
“Has life changed since winning the world title? No, not really – still the same. I’ve still got the same routine in the gym, same routine every day so nothing has changed.
“Of course I have been able to see what I have achieved in my career, but boxing is always what’s next and it is hard. I guess the day you retire you can look back and see what you have achieved.
“You have to go in there fully prepared and I’m well prepared to get the job done.”
That means taking care of business against mandatory challenger Puello at the arena on Saturday night.
Do that, and bigger fight nights against British rival Adam Azim, potentially at Hillsborough, should follow.
Now that really would rubber-stamp Smith’s place in Sheffield boxing legend.