The Englishman injured his elbow in training and withdrew from his maiden title defense a month prior, having stunned Subriel Matias in New York to win the title on January 10.

The hope is that Smith returns in the year's fourth quarter to face mandatory challenger Puello (24-1, 10 KOs) with Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn recently saying he expects Puello-Smith will be rescheduled for October.

In the meantime, Puello will take a tune-up tilt and Dominican Republic homecoming on July 18 against Luis Gallegos (20-1, 17 KOs), Shuan Boxing Promotion has announced.

The 31-year-old, who lost a contentious 12-round majority decision against Subriel Matias last July, will face Gallegos at the Coliseo de Boxeo Carlos Teo Cruz in Santo Domingo.

Scheduled for 10 rounds, their 140-pound contest will mark Puello's first back home for five years. He has made six appearances across U.S. locations since a shutout win over Jesus Antonio Rubio in July 2021.

The Ring's No. 5 rated junior welterweight worked his way up through the ranks in his native homeland before scoring a 12-round split decision win over Batyr Akhmedov to win vacant WBA honors in August 2022, three months after Josh Taylor's reign ended.

A positive test for the performance-enhancing drug clomiphene the following April saw him stripped of his title before a scheduled defense against Rolando "Rolly' Romero.

He returned in December 2023 and six months later, edged a 12-round split decision nod over then-unbeaten contender Gary Antuanne Russell for the WBC interim title. Later upgraded to full champion, he similarly eeked past Sandor Martin over 12 rounds last March before Matias inflicted his career-first professional defeat.

Gallegos (20-1, 17 KOs) turned professional in Mexico a decade ago. He fought mediocre opposition en route to winning his first 20 bouts, though suffered a third-round knockout defeat by Jesus Antonio Rubio in September 2024 and hasn't boxed since.