WBC Silver light welterweight champion Dalton Smith weighed in at 139.5 pounds while his opponent, Mathieu Germain scaled in at 139.2 lbs, for their 12-round fight, with their event to be shown on DAZN this Saturday, April 19, beginning at 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT from the Park Community Arena, Sheffield, England. Ring walks for Smith vs. Germain are at approximately at 4:47 pm ET / 1:47 pm PT on DAZN.

Weights

– Dalton Smith 139.5 vs. Mathieu Germain: 139.2

On the undercard, former two-time featherweight champion Josh Warrington will be at the last chance saloon, going up against sad Asif Khan in a confidence-builder. Warrington (31-4-1, 8 KOs) has lost his last three fights, and is viewed as being over-the-hill by many fans.

Hearn Defends Smith’s Path

Promoter Eddie Hearn says this is Dalton’s last fight before he challenges for a world title this year against WBC light welterweight champion Alberto Puello. Dalton(17-0, 13 KOs) is the WBC mandatory challenger for Puello’s belt.

Germain (26-2-1, 11 KOs) isn’t expected to give Smith any trouble on Saturday night. He’s more of a stay-busy type of opponent for Dalton, 28, to use to stay sharp and to ensure he doesn’t lose before fighting Puello.

It’s impossible to know how good Dalton is because he’s never fought any notable world-class-level opponents. That’s the whole problem with him. He’s glided his way to a 17-0 record without ever being tested once against any of the talented 140-lb contenders that would have potentially exposed him. Fans wonder why Dalton Smith has never trudged through this murderer’s row of killers at 140:

– Gary Antuanne Russell
– Sandor Martin
– Liam Paro
– Subriel Matias

“Dalton Smith, the last time out, he fought for the European title. That was mandated, and the opponent [Walid Quizza] wasn’t good enough [Dalton obliterated the hapless Quizza by 1st-round knockout]. It was an opponent to win the European title, which is a title he hadn’t won,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, explaining why Dalton Smith fought Walid Quizza rather than one of the talented 140-lb contenders in the WBC’s rankings.

It would have been a better idea for Dalton Smith to have skipped fighting for the European title last time out against Quizza and focused more on fighting a world-level fighter. Dalton’s resume is completely barren of world-class fighters, and he’s already approaching 30. How do you build a 17-0 record and achieve a #1 ranking with the WBC without fighting at least one contender?

“All it showed was Dalton Smith is miles above the European level,” said Hearn about Dalton’s fight against Quizza. “Germain will be tougher. He’s a much better fighter. He’s top 15 in the world [Mathieu is ranked #14 IBF = fringe contender]. I think Dalton Smith is an elite 140-pounder.

Dalton’s Last Hurdle

“When you look at British boxing, how many fighters are there that can win big fights in their respective divisions, who are young, fresh, unfazed, unmarked and have n opportunity to be at that level for a long time. This is the last fight Dalton Smith has before [challenging for a world title against WBC light welterweight champion Alberto] Puello, and he has to look good. After that, it’s a straight world title fight. So, you got Dalton Smith in a good fight.

“Josh Warrington is in a big fight [against Asad Asif Khan (19-6-1, 5 KOs). We’re talking about doing Josh Warrington against [Michael] Conlan. It’s a great fight for the fan bases. He’s fighting the same opponent that Conlan just fought [Asad Khan],” said Hearn.