Exclusive:Subriel Matias v Dalton Smith: Tunnel vision has never been so important for Sheffield's 'Thunder'
When Dalton Smith first dreamt of a world title fight, he probably did not envisage build-up like this.
Sheffield’s ‘Thunder’ has been chomping at the bit for years, flooring foes left, right and centre to punch his ticket to the big time.
However, stars of yesteryear will tell you the big time is rarely how you expect it to be.
The build-up to Smith’s WBC light-welterweight title battle with Subriel Matias has been dominated by controversy, none of it having anything to do with the Yorkshire challenger.
Matias tested positive for a banned substance in November and the ‘B’ sample also returned an adverse finding, plunging the fight into doubt.
However, the fight is still going ahead as the New York State Athletic Commission said the concentration detected was below the threshold used by major boxing jurisdictions.
For Smith, blocking out the noise has never been quite so crucial.
Dalton Smith’s tunnel vision
"I just ignored everything,” he told The Yorkshire Post. “I cancelled it all out, just kept to the schedule of what we have been doing.
“It's not been much of a change for me. I've just blocked everything out, knuckled down and prepared well.
“I just took it with a pinch of salt. I was like ‘look, the fight's still going to happen, I'm going to knuckle down and I'm going to still go and get the job done regardless’.”
The ‘pinnacle’
The 28-year-old’s laser focus is understandable given the fight in New York on Saturday (January 10) is the culmination of over two decades of graft.
Smith, the son of his trainer Grant, has had a world title in his sights since he started boxing as a child.
"This is the toughest fight of my career now,” he said. “This is the pinnacle of boxing.
"It's everything I've worked towards since I was six years old. I’m days away from achieving it.
“The excitement's there and the buzz is there and that's why I push my body to the limits, because what I'm going to achieve is going to be big.
"You work your way up, you mould yourself into a world champion. Nobody becomes a world-level fighter overnight.”
There has always been a buzz around Smith and he has a passionate fanbase in his hometown of Sheffield.
However, his ascent has been carefully orchestrated to ensure fulfilment of his potential. He has stepped forward when necessary but shown restraint when required too.
A world-title win would represent another ceiling smashed, yet you get the feeling Smith does not wish to apply the brakes.
“Every fighter's dream is to go and win a world title,” he said. “Very few can say they've done it.
"It's a one percent club. Once I've achieved that, then it's new goals - financially setting your life up, going on to win more belts, the big fights.”
Sheffield homecoming in Dalton Smith’s sights
After 18 wins in 18 fights - 13 coming by way of knockout - Smith’s time has come.
If he can claim the belt in Brooklyn, there will be one hell of a homecoming in the Steel City.
“Someone asked ‘if you could win your world title, would you rather do it in Sheffield or go to the States and do it?’,” he said. “I think the best way to do it is fly over the pond, pick up the title, bring it home, and then have a big homecoming.
"I've got a good few hundred fans going over, I've got great support. For us, as a team, we’ll go over there and show them all what we're about.
"The Brits are the best fans in the world, so I'm going to go and take the title and then bring it home.”