The pressure is already on Subriel Matias before the opening bell.
The battle matters less for who wins than for what it confirms about Matias’ reliability at this stage.
Saturday night at Barclays Center, Matias makes the first defense of his WBC junior welterweight title against undefeated English contender Dalton Smith, and the fight exists less because of momentum than obligation. Negotiations stalled, and the fight was sent to a purse bid, where Matias’ promoter, Fresh Productions, won with an offer of 1.9 million. It wasn’t a fight that grew naturally. It was forced into place.
It almost fell apart again in November when Matias returned an unfavorable analytical finding for Ostarine in VADA tests. Regulators set the levels below the threshold. The New York commission and the WBC allowed the fight to go ahead. Officially cleared means not forgotten. The investigation follows him into the ring.
Matias enters at 23 and 2 with 22 strikeouts. He is ranked number two by The Ring at 140 pounds. He won the WBC title with a majority decision over Alberto Puello in July. It was the first decision victory of his career and the first time his pressure did not completely break the opponent. Before that he held the IBF belt and lost it to Liam Paro in June 2024. The aura now has cracks. Not big ones. But visible.
Smith is 18 and 0 with 13 strikeouts and is seventh through The Ring. He is coming off a clear decision over Mathieu Germain, where he recorded three shutouts. He is disciplined. He is composed. He has not been dragged into the kind of battle that Matias demands. This is the test.
There is no mystery about how Matias tries to win. He presses. He bumps along. He throws until the other man stops responding. If he wins here, it will be because Smith is forced back for long stretches and made to work every second. Matias cannot afford the late slowdown he showed against Puello. If his pace drops again, Smith has the structure to survive it.
The odds list Matias as a minus 160 favorite. That number reflects reputation more than certainty.
If Matias wins, the division reopens. A fight with interim WBC titleholder Isaac Cruz would be violent and unresolved. A unification with IBF champion Richardson Hitchins would be colder and more dangerous.
At 33, Matias has no time to drive. He needs outcomes that close doors behind him.
The card streams on PPV dot com starting at 8:00 PM Eastern for $54.99.
If Matias cannot impose himself here, it will be a clear sign that pressure alone is no longer enough.
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Last updated on 01/09/2026
