THE first bell had barely rung and rather quickly, you could see that Dalton Smith was far sharper and several levels above France's Walid Ouizza in their vacant EBU European junior welterweight title fight.

Three minutes later, the 33-year-old had twice needed to climb off the canvas and the result felt inevitable as the former French, EBU Silver champion's corner had thrown in the towel with referee Jon Llona Fernandez having already seen enough to wave it off himself.

Ouizza (19-3, 8 KOs) was being propped up as a durable, game contender who had campaigned at a higher weight previously.

France are enjoying a good vein of form following surprise victories for Bruno Surace and Leonardo Mosquea in December, though it wasn't a three-peat on away soil and now the focus for Smith is world-level, back to what it should've been after his sixth-round stoppage win over former two-time world challenger Jose Zepeda last March.

Having been upgraded from interim champion, Alberto Puello will defend the full WBC 140-pound world title against Sandor Martin on the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr undercard, March 1.

Smith's promoter and Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn forecasted the Yorkshireman's future plans with excitement in his voice, wishing he was there in person singing his praises at the end of a six-fight DAZN card live at Nottingham Arena.

Instead he juggled potential summer opponents for the 27-year-old (17-0, 13 KOs) when appearing on a watchalong livestream, hours before their second show of the day took place in Las Vegas, headlined by rising super-middleweight contender Diego Pacheco.

"We were pushing for him to be #1 with the WBC at the convention. They will probably have one more [fight], then I expect him to box for world honours by the end of the year.

"I think he'll beat both Puello and Martin, even if Sandor is a tricky fighter. He boxed Zepeda, someone like a Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, Arnold Barboza Jr if he loses to Jack Catterall, he needs a middle ground [bridge] to that level, someone like George Kambosos isn't gonna want to fight an undefeated up-and-comer, not at this stage of his career."

Former WBA world featherweight champion Raymond Ford, part of Hearn's US-based stable of fighters, was among the notable faces on the livestream and asked verbatim: "Would you put him in with newly-minted IBF titleholder Richardson Hitchins?"

While Hitchins has been linked with a IBF/WBO unification against Teofimo Lopez, in a clash between two Brooklyn-born boxers with the same manager, Hearn didn't hesitate saying yes before adding an anecdote about Smith preparing a speech to lobby on his own behalf at the WBC convention, such is his eagerness for a world title bout later this year.