Dalton Smith KOs Subriel Matias to earn stunning world title win - The Mirror

Sheffield star Dalton Smith became world champion in New York on Saturday night with an impressive fifth-round stoppage of Subriel Matias

Dalton Smith put his dad through the wringer before father and son celebrated a stunning world title triumph more than 20 years in the making.

Sheffield's Smith stopped Subriel Matias in the fifth round in New York to become super-lightweight champion on Saturday night. Smith, 28, has been fighting with his dad Grant in his corner since he was just six years old. But he threw their game plan out of the window and went toe-to-toe with the heavy-headed Matias who had 22 stoppages to his name.

The Puerto Rican had been cleared to defend his title despite failing a drug test in the build-up. But he was wobbled by two right hands and a third dumped him on the canvas before the referee waved off the fight. Smith's underdog victory was hailed by promoter Eddie Hearn as the greatest away win he had ever experienced.

And the new champion said: "This has been a lifelong dream of hard work and sacrifice, it's all for this moment. My dad, my granddad, all my family, we’ve all worked for this and I always believed. It's a message to anyone that if you believe in yourself, you can go out and achieve your dreams.

"I heard some people say I'm not tough. I gave my dad a bit of a heart attack as that wasn’t the game plan, but I took all his best shots and thought, 'you can’t hurt me'. He was slowing down so I thought 'persevere, persevere, and I’ll get you.’ We had plan A, B and C, and at world level you have to do it all.

"It’s not going to sink in for a long time but we always knew this would happen. We had everything against us for this fight; the build up, the testing and so on. But I knew that this was my moment and my opportunity, and that you could throw anything at me. I’ve got the best team around me and it's a win for us all.

"Let me enjoy this moment now, I’m going to embrace it, and the future is bright.”

Smith's victory took Britain's tally of male world champions to five and the Sheffield Wednesday fan celebrated by drinking pints of Guinness in the Big Apple. And Hearn, who promised his new charge a Rolex, revelled in their smash-and-grab win.

"Honestly, that beats everything – that’s the greatest away win I’ve ever witnessed," he said. "We knew Dalton was a star, but to do that on the world stage and in that style. He decided to fight Matias at his own game, which is the worst idea you can have – he’s never been hurt, he’s never been down – and he battered him.

"The kid is a hero and there’s a new superstar in the sport of boxing and his name is Dalton Smith. He has gone out and accepted the boogeyman, met him head on in New York and stopped Subriel Matias to become the world champion – put some respect on his name."