In what is an early clubhouse leader for Fight of the Year, Dalton Smith won the WBC Super Lightweight title with a sixth round stoppage of Subriel Matias at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Smith came out in round one landing hard right hands from distance. Round two saw Matias rev up his engine ad begin to land hard volume of power shots. In round two, Smith began to bleed from his nose. The two traded hard punches at close range with Matias beginning to impose his will on Smith. Smith started to bleed from his mouth and lip in the fourth round. Smith hung in there and started to give as good as he was getting. He started to gain confidence as he was able to withstand the best shots from Matias.
In round six, Smith wobbled Matias badly with two right and hands and then landed a perfect right hand to the side of the head that put Matias flat on his back. Matias got to his feet, but wobbled all over the ring and the fight was stopped at 2:24.
Smith, 139.6 lbs of Sheffield, ENG is 19-0 with 13 knockouts. Matias, 140 lbs of Fajardo, PR is 23-3.
“There are no words,” said Smith. “A lifelong dream, hard work and sacrifice, it’s all for this moment. My Dad, my Granddad, all my family, we’ve all worked for this and I always believed. It’s a message to anyone that if you believe in yourself, you can go out and achieve your dreams.
“I heard some people say that Dalton Smith ain’t tough. I gave my Dad a bit of a heart attack in there as that wasn’t the game plan, but I took all his best shots and thought ‘you can’t hurt me.’ He was slowing down so I thought ‘persevere, persevere, and I’ll get you.’ We had plan A, B and C, and at World level you have to do it all.
“It’s not going to sink in for a long time but we always knew this would happen. We had everything against us for this fight. The build up, the testing and so on. But I knew that this was my moment and my opportunity, and that you could throw anything at me. I’ve got the best team around me, the best promoter in the world, and it’s a win for us all.
“Show me the money! Let me enjoy this moment now, I’m going to embrace it, and the future is bright.”
Emmanuel Rodriguez Decisions Pedro Diaz
Former two-time world champion Emmanuel Rodriguez scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Pedro Diaz in a bantamweight bout.
In round one, Rodriguez dropped Diaz with a left hook.
Rodriguez, 117 lbs of Vega Baja, PR won by scores of 99-90 twice and 97-92 and is now 23-3. Diaz, 117.6 lbs Wilmington.CA is 16-7-1.
Cintron Stops Sandoval in wild 1st round
Jeyvier Cintron stopped Victor Sandoval in a wild first-round of their 10-round bantamweight bout.
Seconds into the fight, Sandoval planted Cintron as he decked him with a perfect left hook. Sandoval got wild going for the knock out and it cost him as Cintron landed a straight left that put Sandoval on the deck. Cintron then landed another left that put Sandoval down again. Cintron scored a third knockdown with a right hook. Cintron finished off the fight but hurting Sandoval again with a hard flurry in the corner and referee Eddie Claudio stopped the fight at 2:40.
Cintron, 117.8 lbs of Bayamon, PR is 14-1 with seven knockouts. Sandoval, 116.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 36-6.
Bravo Stops Campa in 2
Nestor Bravo stopped Pedro Campa with one left hook in round two of a 10-round junior welterweight bout.
In round two, Bravo landed a perfect left hook to the jaw that dropped Campa face-first and the bout was stopped at 1:23.
Bravo, 139.4 lbs of Arecibo, PR is now 24-1 with 17 knockouts. Campa, 141 lbs or Sonora, MX is 37-5-1.
Keith Colon stopped former two-time world title challenger Alberto Guevara in a eight-round featherweight bout.
The bout was stopped at 1:09 for Colon, 125.4 lbs of Newark, NJ who is now 9-0 with nine knockouts. Guevara, 125.2 lbs of Mazaltan, MEX us 28-9.
Arijan Iseni took out Mario Bedolla after round three of their six-round light heavyweight bout.
Iseni dominated the game Bedolla and landed power shots before the corner of Bedolla stopped the bout.
Iseni, 178.2 lbs of Staten Island, NY is now 5-0 with five knockouts. Bedolla, 179 lbs of Michalan, MEX us 4-5.