Smith ruled out of WBC super-lightweight title defence due to injury

Dalton Smith has been ruled out of his homecoming fight in Sheffield on June 6 against Alberto Puello after an suffering injury in camp; Galal Yafai's WBC and WBA world flyweight unification championship challenge against Ricardo Sandoval will now headline at the Utilita Arena

>Dalton Smith has been ruled out of his WBC super-lightweight title defence against Alberto Puello after he sustained an injury in camp.

>The fight was supposed to headline on June 6 in Smith's hometown of Sheffield and mark the first defence of his title following his win over Subriel Matias in January.

>Smith joined British compatriots Fabio Wardley (heavyweight), Lewis Crocker (welterweight), Jazza Dickens (super-featherweight) and Nick Ball (featherweight) as a current male world champion with the win.

>However, with Smith's fight now off, Galal Yafai's WBC and WBA world flyweight unification championship challenge against Ricardo Sandoval will now headline at the Utilita Arena.

>ℹ️ An update to our June 6 card in Sheffield @galal_yafai unified World Title shot against Ricardo Sandoval will now headline at the @SheffieldArena

Wishing @daltonsmith08 a speedy recovery from injury 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Z1pnC1mjNo

>The 28-year-old maintained his unbeaten career record with an emphatic fifth‑round knockout of Matias in Brooklyn to capture the belt.

>It was a right hook that dropped Puerto Rico's Matias and extended Smith's record to 19-0 as the referee called for the stoppage, despite Matias attempting to get to his feet.

>He had rocked his opponent with another right hand earlier in the same round.

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>Smith's debut fight on American soil was in danger after Matias tested positive for a banned substance last November, but it was decided a month later that the 33-year-old was not guilty of violating the drug policy.

>Matias' uppercuts and combination punches challenged Smith early on but the Brit rallied as the dethroned champion was knocked out for the first time and saw his record as a pro dip to 23-3.

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