'One task in front of me' - world champion Dalton Smith trying to block out Adam Azim noise
Dalton Smith will walk into the ring at his home arena on Saturday with a world championship belt strapped around his waist, but the proud son of Sheffield insists the accolade will not change his mindset when he meets Alberto Puello in the first defence of his title.
Smith, 29, won the WBC light-welterweight crown with a thrilling fifth-round knockout of Subriel Matias at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn back in January.
After fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition on foreign soil, the next best thing is to defend the title in front of his adoring public, which he will do against Puello at the Utilita Sheffield Arena on Saturday night.
But like all successful sportspeople, defending is the last thing on his mind. Smith is only thinking about winning.
“I’ll keep the same mindset, prepare the same as I always have done because and the best version of me beats the best version of him so I prepare like I always have done,” Smith tells The Yorkshire Post.
“I've still got the mentality of a challenger and that's all I need.
“It's just another fight, I don't put the pressure on me, I'm a world champion now, but that doesn't mean anything. I go in there and be myself, prepare like I always have done and fight like Dalton Smith and I’ll come out with the belt still.”
Three days before the fight, doing a round of media interviews before the more formal set-pieces like the press conference and the weigh-in, Smith cut a relaxed figure.
Nine months have passed since that landmark win over Matias, an elbow injury forcing the initial scheduling of the Puello fight to be postponed.
Deep down he is itching to get back in the ring, but publicly he is conscious of the need to keep his cool, no matter how exciting the prospect of the ring walk will be.
“It's unbelievable, it's going to be an unbelievable feeling but we're still three, four days away from the fight so I'm calm, I'm relaxed and then Saturday will come and the day is going to be special,” he says.
“Doing my ring walk, bringing the title into the arena and walking out with it is going to be special.”
What happened in Brooklyn at the beginning of the year exceeded all expectations, but he has not allowed himself to dwell on it.
“The adrenaline is running high for a good few days, a week maybe, because boxing is a drug,” says Smith, whose victory over Matias was a 20th from 20 bouts.
“But the thing is what goes up must come back down, so you reach that high and in a few days there's a bit of depression kicking in and every fighter will tell you that.
“You can't be on a high forever, you enjoy those moments but it soon comes back down and it's time to come back and get back to work.
“It's only been an extra couple of months to get this fight back up and running, it's what happens in boxing, I've been here many times before and it just gives you more time to prepare.”
Maintaining a focus on what’s in front of them, when there is so much noise about potential match-ups down the line, is a balancing act every fighter has to tally.
Like the greats before him, Smith is adept at deflecting inquisitive blows about who might be around the corner.
“Easy, I've got one task in front of me and that's all I need to focus on,” he parries.
“Everything is just noise, it's irrelevant.”
But every now and again, the blow lands and Smith is sucked into the noise swirling around him.
The latest surrounds Adam Azim, his British rival, who he seems destined to meet in 2027, potentially at Hillsborough football stadium, home of his beloved Sheffield Wednesday.
Azim remains the elephant in the room given a long-running feud between the pair and there is a belief an eagerly-anticipated bout in the 140lbs division can happen. However, Azim has recently been linked with a fight against Matias.
“We stay on the right path and the fight is of high demand,” says Smith. “Boxing is a business, we want that fight to happen and we want it to materialise.
“(In 2027) I want to keep that belt around my waist. Train hard, fight hard, put a great performance in and then we move onto what is bigger and better, but as of right now, it’s to do a job on Alberto Puello.”
Saturday’s Spanish opponent, who Smith recently taunted in his native tongue - “I took a few lessons when I was younger,” he smiles - does not have the big punch pedigree of Matias, but is known for technical ability that pinches rounds.
“Every fight is different and we prepare for whoever we've got but like I said styles make fights and I believe this is the style that will suit me,” says Smith, who tops a card that also features unbeaten teenage York heavyweight Leo Atang.
“I think any fight, from your early fights to the world class, if you're going there looking for a knockout it never comes. It doesn't matter who you're fighting.”