Dalton Smith retains WBC light-welterweight title with split decision over Alberto Puello

Dalton Smith retained his WBC light-welterweight world title with a split-decision victory over Alberto Puello at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on 24 October 2026. Two judges scored the contest 115-113 for Smith while the third had it 116-112 for Puello, leaving the champion unbeaten in 20 professional fights.

The 29-year-old Smith defended the belt in front of a home crowd in a bout that served as a return to Sheffield after he won the title with a fifth-round knockout of Subriel Matias in Brooklyn in January. Wearing the blue and white of Sheffield Wednesday, Smith made his ring walk to AC/DC's Thunderstruck and received a large, vocal reception described as resembling a football terrace, complete with a drummer and trumpeter in attendance.

The fight itself was tactically tight, with both men showing sharp counter-punching and cautious defensive work that left the outcome uncertain until the scorecards were read. The judges delivered a split decision: two cards 115-113 for Smith and one 116-112 for the Dominican challenger Puello, a two-time world champion.

Action in the ring was measured early, with Smith dictating the pace at times and landing a right in the fourth and again just before the bell. Puello, a 32-year-old southpaw, began to find his range with lefts and produced a strong sixth round, connecting with a string of straight lefts and briefly slipping to the canvas in the same frame.

Both fighters traded quality shots in the later rounds, including a ninth in which Smith landed a double jab and right hook and Puello responded with an uppercut and a hook to the body. Smith sustained a cut below his right eye during the closing stages, and in the final 20 seconds he acknowledged the crowd before leaping into his father's arms at the final bell.

Smith's victory was his first defence of the WBC title and sees him add another win to a résumé that already includes British, Commonwealth and European honours. The scheduled June meeting had been postponed after Smith withdrew with an elbow injury, making this the champion's return to the ring for a mandated defence.

With his mandatory challenger dealt with, Smith has publicly targeted higher-profile opponents and domestic showpiece nights; he has been linked to names such as unbeaten American Shakur Stevenson, with the source noting Stevenson is the WBO world champion and a four-weight world title-holder, and potential unification with WBA champion Gary Antuanne Russell has been mentioned. Smith has also said he would welcome a long-discussed domestic fight with unbeaten Adam Azim at Hillsborough in 2027.