That notion was something Smith already believed about himself, though.

A stiff test awaits Smith in his first title defense, as he'll face Alberto Puello on October 24 at Utilita Arena in Smith’s hometown of Sheffield, England. While bigger fights will become available to Smith should he beat Puello, he knows he can’t look past the two-time 140-pound champion in advance of a main event DAZN will stream internationally.

“I think it’s one of the most stacked divisions at the minute,” Smith told The Ring. “There’s some big fights to be made, but all my focus is on Alberto Puello in October, and then we look to move on to the bigger and better fights.”

Smith (19-0, 14 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1-ranked contender for Shakur Stevenson’s title, was originally scheduled to face Puello, 32, on June 6 in Sheffield, but an elbow injury forced the champion to withdraw. Smith, 29, said his injury was something he dealt with heading into his fifth-round stoppage of Matias on January 10 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Puello (25-1, 11 KOs), The Ring’s No. 4 contender, held the WBC 140-pound title before losing a majority decision to Matias in July 2025. The Dominican southpaw opted for a stay-busy bout after Smith’s injury and scored a fourth-round stoppage over Miguel Angel Bolano (10-5, 7 KOs) on July 18 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“I think he’s a great fighter,” Smith said of Puello. “Two-time world champion – he’s there for a reason. I’m not overlooking him one bit. I’ve seen him fight. He’s been on my radar before I was a world champion, so we know him pretty well.”

Smith attended the bout between Matias and Puello in New York, as he was the mandatory challenger for the winner.

After things were nip and tuck between Smith and Matias for four rounds, the Englishman connected with a blistering straight right hand that hurt the Fajardo, Puerto Rico, native. He then connected with another right hand that sent Matias (23-3, 22 KOs) to the canvas late in the fifth round.

Matias rose to his feet on unsteady legs, and referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the fight with 46 seconds left in the round.

“I knew I had the balls,” Smith said. “I knew I could box. I knew what I could do, but you just got to prove it to the world. That’s all that fight was. It was my time to prove to the world that I was world-level.”