Dalton Smith beats Subriel Matias to become world champion in New York

“Don’t hold anything back from Subriel, he’s a great champion.

“I didn’t really stick to tactics tonight. I played him at his own game. You can’t hurt me and I knew I could get to him.”

Smith becomes the UK’s fifth men’s world champion, joining heavyweight Fabio Wardley, heavyweight Lewis Crocker, super featherweight Jazza Dickens and featherweight Nick Ball.

Ticket sales were reported to be modest, but there was no shortage of noise from traveling fans as Smith walked to the ring for the ‘When the sun goes down’ concert by Arctic Monkeys, who hail from his hometown of Sheffield.

Still, it felt like a home run for Matias, with New York’s strong Puerto Rican population behind the 33-year-old.

He looked so relaxed that he stopped to take selfies with family members during his ring walk.

Matias, who was making the first defense of the title he won against Alberto Puello in July, got off to a slow start at times, and Smith took advantage of this by banking the opening round with sharp, cutting punches to the head and body.

Matias overtook the second, forcing Smith to step on the back foot as blood dripped from the Briton’s nose.

After a tough third-place finish, Smith chose to trade with the champion in a remarkable and unexpected fashion.

Matias earned a reputation for relentless pressure and heavy hands, with 22 knockouts in his 23 wins. However, Smith also had the stopping power as he recorded 13 knockouts of his own.

He landed several heavy left hooks to close out the fourth round. Then came the career-defining moment that truly launched Smith onto the world stage.

After briefly stumbling from a Matias combination, an unimpressed Smith came roaring back in the fifth-round shootout.

Before the decisive right, he landed two straight left-right combinations that sent Matias’ head snapping back.

While Matias made a brief objection to the referee’s decision, Smith’s trainer and father, Grant Smith, ran to the ring to celebrate.