Dalton Smith firmly believes he can overpower feared puncher Subriel Matias as he aims to become Britain’s newest world champion this weekend.
The unbeaten Sheffield fighter will challenge Puerto Rican Matias for the WBC super-lightweight title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Matias holds a daunting fight record, featuring 22 stoppages in 23 wins with just two defeats, but Smith insists he can land the final decisive punch this weekend.
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"My aim is to be WBC world champion," Smith, who has 13 stoppages on his unbeaten 18-fight record, told Sky Sports.
"I believe I can make a statement and stop Matias, but whatever happens, I'm going there to win and make sure my hand's raised at the end."
The build-up to the world title fight has been overshadowed by Matias testing positive for a banned substance in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) test in November.
The WBC said in a statement that there were "extenuating circumstances," citing Matias' consumption of supplements known to be contaminated with Ostarine and the adverse findings reported levels of Ostarine being "relatively low and consistent with Ostarine-contaminate supplements".
But Smith has remained fully focused on achieving his ultimate aim, becoming Britain's next world champion after Fabio Wardley was given the vacated WBO heavyweight world title.
"It'd mean everything to me. I've been grafting for this since I first walked into a gym at six," he said.
"I'm doing it for my family, my team, my fans and my city."
