Dalton Smith became the new WBC super lightweight champion at the Barclays Cantre in New York, as he scored a stunning fifth-round stoppage against outgoing champion Subriel Matias in the Big Apple.
Smith took a career toughest test against Matias and got the job done in spectacular fashion
Matias (23-3, KO22) had previously reigned as IBF champion, losing his belt to Liam Paro in June 2024, but he claimed the WBC crown in July last year, taking a majority verdict against Alberto Puello.
Smith (19-0, KO14) came in to this one unbeaten but largely unproven, having won British, Commonwealth and European belts and also fringe WBC titles, defending his WBC Silver crown last time out with a wide points win against Mathieu Germain in his home town of Sheffield.
A crisp right hand found the mark for Smith in the opener, and his jab was working well early on.
Mathias was choosing to try and walk Smith down in round one, but only walked into an uppercut from the challenger.
Smith was happy to trade with Matias in round two as he expended a lot of energy, and Matias exploited that in the third, landing with a left hook and getting the better of the exchanges.
Smith was still content to fight fire with fire, and he was landing well up lose, as a huge left hook connected for him in the fourth and a hard combination also hit the target as the man from Sheffield cranked the pressure up.
Matias backed Smith up at the start of the fifth, but back ‘Thunder’ came, and although he suffered a cut on his left eye, left hooks from Smith rocked the champion, and an overhand right hand dropped the Puerto Rican.
He rose, but on unsteady legs, and the contest was sensationally waved off.
Remaining undercard
There were early wins galore on the undercard, and Nestor Bravo (24-1, KO17) took an impressive second-round knockout win against Pedro Campa (37-5-1, KO25).
It was a highlight-reel knockout, with a jolting left hook from Bravo flattening Campa face first.
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Former two-time world champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (23-3, KO13) returned from losing his IBF bantamweight title with a ten-round points win against Fernando Diaz (16-7-1, KO6).
Rodriguez was a winner by scores of 99-90 (twice) and 97-92.
Jeyvier Cintron (14-1, KO7) dropped Victor Efrain Sandoval (38-6, KO24) three times on the way to a first-round stoppage win at bantamweight, and Keith Colon (9-0, KO9) remained perfect with another early win, this time in the seventh round against Alberto Guevara (28-9, KO13).
Light heavyweight novice Arjan Iseni (5-0, KO5) forced Mario Bedolla Orozco (4-5, KO3) to retire after three rounds of their scheduled six-rounder
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oppage win over Mario Bedolla Orozco (4-4, 3 KOs).
The post Subriel Matias vs Dalton Smith – Results & Post-Fight Report appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.