Interviews
Rising UK star Dalton “Thunder” Smith
“One day I will win a world title, just like Charlie and Sunlit [Edwards] have to go to the gym.”
Dalton Smith will fight for the English title in his eighth professional fight this Saturday against Lee Appleyard in a fight with Joshua Buatsi vs Daniel Dos Santos.
“Since I was a little boy, I dreamed of fights like this.
“They’re English Britain’s Rising Star Dalton ‘Thunder’ Smith Along the way you see all the names who owned it. Fighting for the title in England is an honor for me, and this is just the beginning.
“Whatever path my team wants me to take, but it would be nice to win the English, British, Commonwealth, European, etc. titles and eventually win the world titles, but for me I take each fight individually and I am the first springboard “is the English title.”
Although Lee Appleyard is a 22-fight veteran and former English titleholder, he will enter this fight as an 11/11 underdog. Smith is the clear favorite in this fight, which will be his most arduous in his career so far.
“As a professional, 100% [this is my toughest test]. You look at Lee’s record and on paper he is more experienced than me, he has competed in championship rounds, he was already English champion, so it looks like it will be a tough test for me.
“I’ve only had seven fights in my career, I’m a baby in this game, but I feel like it’s the perfect fight at this point in my career and I believe Lee will motivate me and teach me some things.”
Some may say this fight may be a step too early for the 24-year-old, but Smith believes that with his amateur pedigree and especially his participation in the World Series of Boxing, he is in a great position heading into his first title fight.
“It helps me a lot, especially in the position I’m in now.
“People forget that I competed in the World Series of Boxing [WSB] it’s five rounds in itself and you don’t box without knocks, you fight against the best in the world, Russians, Kazakhs and Cubans.
“I’ve been there and done that at 18, so I’ve had that World Series of Boxing experience and boxed against some really tough guys, so it’s just another day at the office for me.
“For the World Series of Boxing, it definitely helps. It’s basically a professional fight and you just don’t build it up with a journeyman like you do in your professional career.
“You could say I had seven professional fights, but you could also say I did. I think it was four or five fights in the World Series of Boxing and that all comes into play.”
Throughout his early professional career, Dalton had the support of his boyhood football team, Sheffield Wednesday, and has recently teamed up with the club to assist the community.
“At Sheffield Wednesday I have always been a supporter of the club and they supported me at the end of my amateur career, which was noted and throughout my professional career they have always been supportive.
“All the Sheffield Wednesday fans and supporters have been supporting me, so it was nice, I’m honored and privileged to receive it.
“I’ve started a partnership with them and in the future we’ll start working with communities, younger kids who don’t have much, and if I can go back to Sheffield Wednesday with the younger generation and give them something, that’s going to be make me see it.
‘Thunder’ has earned plenty of praise after his first seven fights, but he is keenly aware of social media’s fickleness towards sports participants, having seen first-hand how his stablemate and novel IBF Flyweight World Champion, Sunlit Edwards, embraces ‘trolls’ and deals with them.
“It means a lot to me, the support I get and the good comments, but it’s just the beginning of my career. I have to expect negative emotions to come. There will be ups and downs in my career, especially given the current state of social media.
“Sunlit thrives on this. Sunlit likes to deal with trolls, but for me social media is only for my profile and my boxing is just a platform.
“As long as I have good people around me, I know who supports me, that’s all that matters. I think in this day and age of social media you can’t take anything to heart.
“There are always people who doubt you and throw negativity at you, but that’s how you deal with it. I just take it with a pinch of salt.”
Sunlit was Grant Smith’s second world champion after defeating Moruti Mthalane at York Hall last month. It was an achievement that left Dalton ecstatic.
“I buzz for him. I was close to shedding tears when they said, “and novel.” When I look back, I describe it as the art of boxing. This is the art of boxing. To hit and not get hits and do it for 12 innings shows how fit he was, what conditions he was in and what he put into this camp.
“I’m over the moon for him and especially my dad, he’s been there since his amateur career and it’s been nice to see them go through the pros.”
It was Grant Smith, Dalton’s coach and father, who was praised that night for his work in the corner and his guidance. The super-light outfit emphasized the importance of his father’s responsibilities.
“It’s crucial to have a coach in your corner who understands you and gives you the right advice, but doesn’t burden you with it.
“It’s nice to see it because I know my dad, his passion and the challenging work he puts in.
“He doesn’t want the spotlight, the cameras, he doesn’t want his praise shown on TV, he likes to sit in the back, in the shadow.
“He’s in it for the right reasons, he’s in it for his players, he wants his players to have a better life and do well.
“For me, it’s nice to see that people are giving him the recognition he deserves.”
Natasha Jonas unified the welterweight division by defeating Ivana Habazin by clear points on Saturday to add the WBC title to her IBF crown at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool.
Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KO) was last seen defending her title in January in a hard-fought split decision over Mikaela Mayer, while Habazin (23-6, 7 KO) won the vacant WBC welterweight title in her home country. time out, winning by wide points over Kinga Magyar.
After a technical opening round, Jonas settled into a steady rhythm before landing a powerful right hand in the fourth round that crushed Habazin.
There was a rivalry, but the home favorite was much better in the rallies and seemed to be losing round after round.
This situation lasted until the final bell, when Jonas became the winner by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92.
Price is closing in on Jonas’ match
Lauren Price definitely stayed on as a collision course with Jonas and easily defended her WBA and IBO welterweight titles after a third-round fight against Bexcy Mateus.
Mateus (7-1, 6 KO) was on board in the first round, after the Welshman landed a powerful left hand, and the Colombian struggled to match Price’s speed.
The same shot caused the 29-year-old to repeat the punch in the second round, and the round later ended when another stinging left hand stunned Meteus and she fell to the canvas, after which the fight was stopped.
Price (8-0, 2 KO) has agreed to face Jonas next, and promoter Ben Shalom revealed it could be announced next week.
Knife edge passes McKenna
Lee Cutler scored an upset victory to claim the silver WBC International welterweight title after winning a majority decision against Stephen McKenna.
McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) was eliminated in the first round, his knee touching the canvas after being tagged, and Cutler (15-1, 7 KO) took full advantage of his opponent’s weakness in the seventh round when his right hand plunged into his knee. The Irishman who ultimately fell once again.
McKenna was relentless in his attacks and landed a huge number of punches.
The balance of 94-94 was surpassed by the scores of 95-93 and 96-92, which ensured the victory for Cutler.
Jeffers stopped Quartey
Mark Jeffers is on track for large fights in 2025 after defeating Joshua Quartey to defend his silver Commonwealth super middleweight title.
A pair of right hands put Quartey (10-1, 9 KO) on the board, and although he broke the count, a well-placed body shot after the restart by Jeffers (19-0, 6 KO) blew the guy away again.
A crazy attack after the restart forced a stoppage.
Riley secures Chamberlain’s face-off with a stoppage
Viddal Riley finished the heavyweight fight and stopped Dan Garber in the second of the scheduled six rounds.
Riley (12-0, 7 KO) hit Garber (7-4, 2 KO) with his right hand, and then his next attack forced the referee’s intervention.
Riley’s next match will be against Isaac Chamberlain on February 1.
Undercard remaining
Mason Cartwright (21-4-1, 8 KO) won all six rounds at super welterweight against Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-25, 7 KO), and Hope lightweight Frankie Stringer (9-0, 1 KO) did the same in the fight against Tatenda Mangombe (3-9-1).
In the flyweight division, Mikie Tallon (6-0) defeated Benn Norman (7-7) with a body shot in the first round of the match, and then settled for a 59-54 victory.
The only fighter to fight four rounds in the super featherweight division was Mason Devine (6-0, 1 KO), who won every session against Jayo Fernando Duran (15-34-1, 14 KO).
Dillian Whyte has revealed his predictions for the hotly anticipated rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Fury, who knocked out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022, will seek revenge for the only defeat of his career in just 11 days, after losing to Usyk by split decision earlier this year.
Despite losing the night, “The Gypsy King” was a major success and many are struggling to pick a winner in his second battle against the imperious Ukrainian.
Some experts believe Fury needs to be more aggressive and take the lead if he is to win.
I’m talking to Social boxingWhyte revealed he shared that view, asking the Morecambe man to return to the game plan that saw him destroy Deontay Wilder in the return leg.
“It’s a great fight, man, I’m still trying to think – how will this fight go?
“Okay, Fury can make changes, but Usyk can make changes too. It’s a tough fight, a very, very tough fight for both fighters.
“If I were Fury’s coach, I would tell him he has to play aggressively.
“Fight him like you fought Wilder the second time.
“Bring back the aggression, bring back the tyrant!
“This is heavyweight boxing – you never know.”
It is unclear whether Fury will heed the advice of Whyte and others in the boxing world who have advised him to take the fight to Usyk, but looks noticeably heavier than before the first fight.
What are the changes? ❌@Tyson_Fury says he will exploit exactly the same game plan as the first time when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the month.
Thinks? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/VtpEwLJkWx
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) December 6, 2024
Win or lose, the 36-year-old could face a long-awaited home fight against Anthony Joshua, even though “A.J.” interrupted defeat against Daniel Dubois in September.
While it may not have been as great a spectacle as it once was, a clash between Joshua and Fury would still be by far the biggest all-British fight in recent memory.
As for Whyte, he returns to the ring next Sunday night and will face Ghanaian heavyweight Ebenezer Tetteh live on DAZN in Gibraltar.
The All-American fight between lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is one of the most anticipated fights in all of boxing.
Both Davis and Stevenson are undefeated multi-weight champions and are staples on any respected pound-for-pound list.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for assuming that the pair locking corners in their prime years is a given, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future.
“Tank” spoke to the media at the press conference inaugurating his performance March 1 fight with Lamont Roach, and when the prospect of fighting Stevenson arose, he didn’t seem particularly interested.
The Baltimore hitter even went so far as to question what his compatriot did to deserve him.
“What for? Who has Shakur [beat]? What did Shakur do?
“What has he achieved in sports? He didn’t do anything! Juvenile people look better than him!”
“Keyshawn [Davis] you look so much better than that nigga! Shout it out nigga, he ain’t done nothing!
I asked Gervonta about a possible fight with Shakur… #Box #TankRoach pic.twitter.com/T1eNFJ9iIO
— Dwa O Dwa Z.. (@Noo_Barzz) December 3, 2024
“Why the hell are you saying his name?”
Like Davis, Stevenson will also return to action in the first quarter of next year, fighting against up-and-comer Floyd Schofield on the February 22 Riyad season card.
The Newark southpaw has been sidelined since his July decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan after he had to withdraw from a proposed October fight with Joe Cordina due to injury.
Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his willingness to have a fight between the two virtuosos, provided both are successful in their upcoming fights.
‼️ His Excellency Turki Alalshikh stated that he wants the Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson fight: “My plan for Shakur is this fight [vs Floyd Schofield]then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to come on our show.” [@DAZNBoxing] pic.twitter.com/Mmi6hO7Fjo
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) December 3, 2024
While he undoubtedly has the talent to rival Davis, Stevenson is not as commercial a star as his rival, and some critics believe he needs to start giving more entertaining performances if he wants to get substantial names.
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