It was a hometown decision that allowed WBC super lightweight world champion Dalton Smith to retain his belt following yesterday’s fight against Dominican challenger Alberto Puello at Sheffield Arena. The Matchroom Boxing fighter prevailed by split decision, with the judges scoring the contest 115–113, 115–113 and 112–116.
After an opening round marked by Puello’s fencing skills, as he cleverly boxed from long range and picked away at a very reluctant-to-open-up Smith, the two fighters settled into an extremely close contest that proved difficult for the judges to score.
For four consecutive rounds, neither man managed to gain the upper hand, partly because of the decidedly slow pace of the fight. Smith occupied the center of the ring, keeping his guard tight and remaining focused as he waited for the right opening to unleash his combinations. Puello circled around him, throwing plenty of long punches but without much conviction or explosiveness. The result was long stretches without meaningful exchanges or significant excitement.
It was only from the sixth round onward that the balance began to shift. The challenger stepped up a gear, targeting his opponent with punches that were not particularly dangerous but were certainly preferable to Smith’s endless waiting game, as the champion remained rooted to the spot as though his feet were stuck in reinforced concrete.
The Englishman allowed the challenger to dictate the action for two rounds before attempting to shake himself into life. He enjoyed some success by targeting the body, a strategy he probably should have employed more consistently throughout the fight.
Puello, however, stood his ground without allowing himself to be overwhelmed, and in the tenth round he regained control of the contest, repeatedly landing his straight left hand flush on Smith’s face.
Had the fight taken place on neutral ground, I am convinced that Smith would have gone for broke heading into the so-called championship rounds, knowing that he had not done enough up to that point to retain his belt. Instead, the defending champion, banking on the judges’ goodwill, showed little inclination to take risks, limiting himself to a few sporadic bursts of activity in the eleventh round and some provocative showboating in the final three minutes.
In all honesty, there were so many extremely difficult rounds to score in this fight that I do not feel comfortable calling the verdict a “robbery.” Depending on each observer’s scoring criteria, the final scorecard could look very different.
Nevertheless, it is only fair to point out that Alberto Puello was the only fighter who clearly and unequivocally won certain rounds. Personally, I had him winning by four points at the final bell, and I therefore believe that even a draw would have been generous to Dalton Smith.
The decision that was handed down, then, while not quite reaching the level of a scandal, was undoubtedly influenced by home advantage. The two judges who scored the fight for the Englishman must have awarded him an excessively high percentage of the close rounds, revealing a degree of bias in their scoring.
Smith will need to learn from this experience and improve, particularly in terms of his tactical approach. The Englishman has solid technical fundamentals and considerable explosiveness, but he cannot afford to surrender the initiative to his opponent for such prolonged periods. His work rate needs to increase, along with his willingness to take risks. There is now talk of a unification fight against WBO champion Shakur Stevenson, a matchup in which Smith would enter as a clear underdog.
As for Puello, fortune did not smile on him last night, but it is worth emphasizing that the Dominican frequently finds himself involved in fights decided by controversial scorecards. Sometimes the decisions go his way, sometimes they do not. Against Gary Antuanne Russell and Sandor Martin, he received the judges’ favor, whereas against Subriel Matias he did not, and all three decisions raised eyebrows.
Perhaps Puello should try to win rounds more clearly and convincingly, taking the initiative with greater determination rather than settling for doing the bare minimum needed to score points.