Raul Marquez was shocked when Dalton Smith beat Subriel Matias at his own game.
Smith, 19-0 (14 KOs), made his first trip to the United States a memorable one. He got an iconic knockout on foreign soil, stopping Matias in the fifth round to win the WBC 140lbs title last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Marquez, a former 1992 U.S. Olympian and titleholder, now serves as a bilingual broadcaster on many boxing telecasts. He was on the call with former BoxingScene feature writer Corey Erdman, and had a sharp reaction to the stoppage.
“It shocked me,” Marquez said. “Not just did he knock this guy out, something nobody had ever done. The way he did it, he beat Matias at his own game.”
The back-and-forth battle that took place over five rounds was difficult to score. Smith was winning rounds, but Matias started to inflict damage. It was a narrative that has become a common one for Matias, who has a tendency to start slow and then overwhelm his opponents with pressure and thudding blows.
“Dalton said at the postfight interview, the plan was to box,” Marquez said. “He said he took Matias’ best shots, and when he took those shots, he said, ‘I am just going to beat him at his own game.’ That is not true. He got forced to fight that fight, because that is what I think happened. That is what Matias does.”
Marquez explained some of the criticism he has received from Smith’s fans and supporters.
“They are watching this fight with their heart, with their emotions, with their feelings,” Marquez said. “I am not a fan – I am an analyst. They are saying I am not giving him credit for the punches he landed. I did.”
Part of Matias’ style is to take his opponent’s punches.
Against Shohjahon Ergashev and Roberto Ramirez, Marquez recalls, Matias had been rocked. When Smith landed the right hand, Matias was wobbled, then floored. It shocked many, including those calling the bout.
The knockdown sequence marked only the second time in Matias’ career that he had hit the canvas. Petros Ananyan had dropped Matias in the seventh round of their first encounter, which Matias had lost in 2020.
Some dissenting views felt that Matias, who entered as the WBC junior welterweight titleholder and a two-time junior welterweight titlist, should have been afforded the benefit of the doubt. As the champ, the thinking goes, he should have been given the chance to make one last stand.
Marquez, a former titleholder, who sat ringside, disagrees.
“He was out,” Marquez said of Matias. “He got back up, but I think it was a good decision that the referee decided not to let him go.
“He was really hurt. I think if Dalton Smith had caught him again with another big right hand over the top, he might have hurt him really bad.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
