LAS VEGAS – Alberto Puello, after a Wednesday training session at Dauntless Boxing gym that counts WBA welterweight titleholder Rolly Romero, light heavyweight contender David Morrell Jnr and former welterweight belt holder Yordenis Ugas as stablemates, said he is enthused by the chance to fight Dalton Smith.
The June 6 matchup in Sheffield, England – initially reported by BoxingScene and officially confirmed Wednesday – offers Puello a chance to win back the belt lifted from him last July by Subriel Matias, whom Smith then defeated in a January stoppage to take control of the title.
“I feel very excited and grateful for the opportunity that the WBC and my promoter have given me,” said Puello, 24-1 (10 KOs).
As for how he would deal with Smith’s rugged, persistent style, Puello said, “by making adjustments and sticking to the way I fight. If I can do that, Dalton offers a few opportunities for me to capitalize upon.”
Surrounded by a wealth of talent at his gym – including veteran trainer Ismael Salas, of Cuba – Puello anticipates a strong showing in his effort to recapture the WBC belt.
“I feel great,” said Puello, a 31-year-old originally from San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. “It’s been a few years working with Coach Salas, and being around these guys, I feel like I learn something new every day.”
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The other 140lbs titlists are unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson, Richardson Hitchins (IBF) and a man Puello has already defeated, Gary Antuanne Russell (WBC).
Should he win, Puello said, “my goal is to unify the belts. So whoever has them, my goal is to unify.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.