Dalton Smith salutes his hometown crowd after a March 23 knockout victory over Jose Zepeda in Sheffield, England. Photo Credit: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Dalton Smith will have to wait a few more weeks for his next ring appearance.
However, the show will apparently continue without its headliner.
The Ring has learned that Sheffield’s Smith has been forced to postpone his planned September 28 DAZN headliner against Spain’s Jon Fernandez. An injury that has been reported, although not disclosed, is the cause for the delay.
Smith-Fernandez was set to take place at Utilita Arena in Smith’s hometown of Sheffield, England. The Ring has been informed that plans are in place to move forward with the map, although likely in a new location. It is not clear as of this going to publication if a new headliner will be sought or if an undercard match will make it to the top slot.
The balance of the show includes the rescheduled Rhiannon Dixon-Terri Harper WBO lightweight title fight. Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs)—a former 130-pound and 154-pound titlist—hails from nearby Denaby Main and was set to fight at the venue for the third straight time. A new location would not make such a main event as relevant.
Cheshire’s Dixon (10-0, 1 KO) will attempt the first defense of her title. She won the belt in a ten-round decision over Argentina’s Karen Carabajal (22-2, 3 KOs) on April 13 at AO Arena in Manchester.
Heavyweight prospect Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) was also recently added to the undercard. The popular boxer from Romford, London will face Andrii Rudenko (36-7, 22 KOs) in a scheduled ten round bout. Fisher enjoyed his first main event in a July 6 first-round knockout of Alen Babic (12-2, 11 KOs) at Copper Box Arena.
The “Bosh” heavyweight is the more likely candidate to advance to the headliner.
Smith (16-0, 12 KOs) was set to challenge for the vacant European 140-pound title. Much has been made of his previously ordered showdown against Adam Azim (11-0, 8 KOs), whose team blatantly sent him out of the match.
The fight against Fernandez (26-3, 22 KOs) is a natural next step in the career of Smith, a fast-rising talent. Smith is coming off a fifth-round knockout of former title challenger Jose Zepeda on March 23. He equally impressed in a seventh-round stoppage of Sam Maxwell last July 1. Both games took place at Utilita Arena.
The expectation is that Smith-Fernandez will be rescheduled later this fall.
