The pair are set to meet this Saturday night at the city’s Utilita Arena where die-hard Wednesday fan Smith will put his WBC junior welterweight title on the line against the two-time world champion from the Dominican Republic, live on DAZN.

But what was most notable about the clip, which had gone viral by the end of the weekend, was the way in which Smith had addressed his opponent in perfect Spanish. “Estas en mi casa,” Smith said. “You’re in my house.”

This was not just one choice phrase from 29-year-old Smith (19-0, 14 KOs), The Ring's No. 1 at 140 pounds, but rather the result of months of learning Spanish. It was a surprise for all, not least Puello himself.

“Speaking Spanish is something I’ve wanted to do from when I was young,” Smith tells The Ring. “I’m not sure what triggered it, but it’s just always been the one language that I’ve wanted to speak.”

So Smith enlisted the help of the country’s top Spanish translator at the start of the year and applied himself to learning the language with the same aptitude he has shown during a lifetime in boxing.

The fact he won his WBC title from Puerto Rico’s Subriel Matias in January, and is now making his first defense against a Dominican, had nothing to do with the move.

“It’s not about my past few opponents or my next one,” he adds. “That's a coincidence. But I do think Spanish is a really useful language to speak in boxing though. A lot of the bodies like the WBC are both English and Spanish speaking and Hispanic boxing fans are second best only to Sheffield boxing fans.”

Smith is also a huge fan of Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican icon who he has studied over the years. The pair bumped into each other at The 2025 Ring awards with Canelo sharing some words of encouragement for Smith. “This is just the beginning,” he said in English.

Now, the next time they speak, they might have a chat in Spanish.

Smith said: “I’ve made no secret of my love of Mexican boxing. It’s a style I’ve studied over the years. My early kits had a Mexican style to them and I'd like to think my style is quite Mexican. The boxing, the people, the food, the language, I just love it.

“So yeah, I’m slowly picking up bits of the language and you never know, one day I might be fluent. It’s not an easy language to learn and studying’s never been my thing. But never bet against me when I put my mind to something.”