Performance of the night: Josh Padley.
Fight of the night: Ryan Kelly Vs Caoimhin Agyarko.
The stage was set at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield last night, where Dalton Smith topped the bill in his final fight before an anticipated world title shot later this year. The venue seats roughly 3,000 people for boxing events, and it was near enough sold out – with the odd empty seat here and there. In fairness, the card wasn’t sensational but it does beg the question whether Dalton Smith can become a big star in his home city. You feel he either needs a world title attached to his name, or a huge domestic showdown against Adam Azim to propel him into Sheffield superstardom.
Mathieu Germain was the man in the way of Dalton Smith’s world title hopes last night, he came into the fight with a 26-2-1 record, holding a draw and split decision win over the popular Canadian, Steve Claggett. He had however been stopped in both of his losses, leading many of us to expect another highlight reel knockout for Smith. Alas, it didn’t happen. Smith dropped Germain three times in rounds two, eleven, and twelve, but was ultimately frustrated by his Canadian counterpart who refused to engage after suffering a broken jaw in the second round of the fight. A wide Dalton Smith win never looked in doubt, only a point deduction for low blows put a dampener on his evening.
Dalton Smith is clearly a top fighter at 140lb, and a world title shot against the WBC champion Albert Puello is more than likely next. However, he didn’t set the world alight with his performance last night. Okay, most of that is down to the negative tactics of Mathieu Germain, but there’s a long way to go until he can pack out the Utilita Arena, which boasts a capacity of 13,500 people.
In the chief support was the former two time IBF world featherweight champion, Josh Warrington. I live locally to Josh’s hometown, so I’ve been to a number of the major fights in his career – most notably when he regained his IBF world title by stopping Kiko Martinez, in 2022. It just so happened that I was sitting right amongst the Josh Warrington faithful, last night. Whilst in good voice, there were only a couple dozen in attendance – a stark reminder of how support dwindles when the going gets tough. Noted, Josh Warrington wasn’t in a fight that was going to get his Leeds faithful over in their droves, but there was a time when it didn’t matter who Warrington was fighting – the Leeds crowd would be out in force regardless.
Warrington boxed to a wide decision victory against the erratic Indian, Asad Asif Khan. The less said about the fight, the better. It was noticeable that Warrington was missing with shots that he previously would have landed, and generally looked like a shadow of his prime years. The team will be hoping for a big showdown against Michael Conlan later this year, and it feels like this is the final run for both.
Marko Cvetanovic hadn’t beaten anybody of note in his 13-0 career, but we’re officially part of the Josh Padley fan club – so we’ll gloss over that accordingly. Something that is worth noting, is there was a huge pop from the crowd when Josh Padley made his walk to the ring, and they were all in unbelievable voice throughout his 5 round breakdown of his Serbian counterpart. It was a polished and exciting performance from Padley. With Matchroom and Eddie Hearn now behind him he’s got a real chance to build that already impressive fanbase and become a key part of the big-time boxing in Yorkshire. He picked up the WBA International title last night, which will rank him in the top 15 at 135lb. He may also drop down to 130lb and target big fights there. There’s plenty of options for Padley, with his story and a few more performances like that – he could be one of British boxing’s feel good stories over the next couple of years.
Opening up the main card was Ryan Kelly and late replacement, Caoimhin Agyarko. They fought a close all action fight where Agyarko edged out Kelly in a majority decision victory, to win the WBA Continental 154lb title. It was a big win for Agyarko, who was seemingly frozen out after defeating Troy Williamson at the end of 2023. Eddie Hearn previously mentioned that Agyarko wasn’t willing to take on the challenges put forward to him. That now looks like an issue of the past, with Agyarko set to face Ishmael Davies next, which promises to be a cracking super-welterweight matchup.
On the prelims there was impressive stoppage victories for Leli Buttigieg who stopped Grant Dennis with a sickening body shot, and for Giorgio Visioli who was styling on Kane Baker before a fourth round TKO. Dave Allen’s charge, Joe Howarth also picked up a points victory, defeating Mexican, Mario Valenzuela Portillo over six rounds.
All in all, it was a good night. The card was disappointing, and a few fights failed to deliver but the atmosphere was decent and the Canon Medical Arena proved to be a great little venue for boxing. There genuinely isn’t a bad seat in the house, and it’s a very intimate affair. I hope to see Dalton Smith challenge for the WBC world title next, there is no doubt big nights on the horizon for the Sheffield native.
