Eddie Hearn salutes Dalton Smith’s triumph as one of his favorite nights
Jan 11, 2026 • 6:02 AM ET
Mohsin Hussain/Matchroom BoxingEddie Hearn has heralded Dalton Smith’s dramatic win over Subriel Matias as one of the finest victories he has seen from a British fighter away from home.
Hearn was quick to rank Smith’s impressive feat up with Darren Barker’s emotional IBF middleweight title win over Australian Daniel Geale in Atlantic City in 2013 and Kell Brook’s 2014 victory over Shawn Porter in California.
Sheffield’s Smith, 28, halted Matias in round five at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, to set up any number of meaningful future fights as the newly-crowned WBC junior welterweight champion.
“That was the greatest away win I’ve ever felt or witnessed, whatever you call it,” said a jubilant Hearn. “Dalton Smith is a fucking hero. You’ve got to box with Matias. You saw against Liam Paro. But Matias was on tonight. He was red hot and he didn’t allow Dalton Smith to box. So Dalton Smith decided to fight Matias at his own game, which is the worst idea you can have. He [Matias]’s never been down, he’s never been hurt and he battered him. Knocked him out at the Barclays Center in New York to become Britain’s latest world champion. The kid is a hero.”
Hearn later doubled down on his assertion on X, when he wrote: “One of the greatest moments I’ve ever been a part of. A star is born! Balls of steel. You fucking did it mate. World Champion.”
Meanwhile, from England, Adam Azim – Boxxer’s star and rival at the same weight – took to social media to write: “Congratulations to Dalton Smith. That was one heck of a performance. All the 140 belts are coming to the UK.”
With the win, Smith is now 19-0 (14 KOs)..
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
