Dalton Smith Holds On to His Title With Split Decision Over Alberto Puello in Sheffield
Dalton Smith kept his WBC super-lightweight world title on Saturday night, winning a split decision over Alberto Puello at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
A split decision means the three judges did not all agree. Two of them scored the fight 115-113 for Smith. The third had it 116-112 for Puello. The margin on the two winning cards was just two rounds' worth of points, so it was a fight that could have gone either way on another night.
For Smith, the win extended his unbeaten professional record to 20 wins. It was also his first defence of the belt since he won it with a fifth-round knockout of Subriel Matias in Brooklyn in January. A defence simply means the champion gets to keep the title by beating a challenger in the ring.
The fight had already been through a delay. It was originally scheduled for June, but Smith withdrew because of an elbow injury. Sheffield is his hometown, and he had spoken earlier in the year about wanting a homecoming fight in the city. He is 28 years old.
Puello comes from the Dominican Republic. He fights as a technical southpaw, which means he is left-handed and stands with his right foot forward. That stance can make it harder for an opponent to find a clean line of attack, and it set up a fight of contrasting angles in the ring. Both men made weight ahead of the bout, which was reported by the WBC, the sanctioning body that governs the belt.
Weight-making matters in boxing because each division has a limit, and fighters who are too heavy on the scales cannot fight for that title. Smith and Puello both cleared that hurdle, so the only question left was who would finish the night with their hand raised.
For casual fans, the scorecards tell the story best. Smith's supporters in the arena had a result to celebrate, but Puello's camp had a case on the third card. Split decisions often leave both sides arguing, and this one was no different in its closeness. What comes next for the belt will depend on the promoters and the WBC's rankings, which decide who gets the next shot.
