Steel City Heroes: Dalton Smith joins illustrious band of Sheffield world champions with latest success

When refree Ricky Gonzalez waved his arms between Dalton Smith and Subriel Matias on Saturday night, it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

The Briton had flown across the North Atlantic to Brooklyn's Barclays Center, set on dethroning the WBC light-welterweight champion in his New York City debut.

A lively crowd in the Big Apple's most populous borough has come expecting to see Matias defend his title, to further confirm the Puerto Rican's star wattage.

Instead, a pair of crunching right hooks first stunned and then sprawled him across the canvas, to hand his opponent a place in the sport's history books.

In taking the mantle of world champion however, Smith joins another more elite band of stars - those fellow Sheffield fighters who have scaled the summit too.

Here, as the Steel City's latest superstar revels in his ascent, DAZN News looks back at some of the other South Yorkshire stars who ruled the roost in their prime.

Naseem Hamed (36-1, 31 KOs)

Surely the most successful export from Sheffield in the ring, Prince Naseem reigned supreme across the featherweight division for a glorious half-decade spell.

After taking domestic titles at bantamweight and super-bantamweight in 1994, the starlet subsequently cemented his place with a string of sensational victories.

John Gichigi /Allsport

That included multiple tenures as WBO, IBF and WBC world champion, with triumphs over Steve Robinson, Tom Johnson and César Soto to name but a few.

Hamed suffered his only loss against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2001, but returned to defeat Manuel Calvo in a final bout a year later, ultimately retiring at just 28.

Kell Brook (40-3, 28 KOs)

One of Britain's most recognisable boxers across a near-two-decade career, 'The Special One' was a regular mainstay at arenas with his impressive displays.

A 2004 debut laid a long path to the summit, with Brook claiming his first major title in 2014, taking the IBF welterweight title from Shawn Porter in California.

His victory by majority decision remains one of the most impressive for a Briton overseas, though a loss to Gennady Golovkin in 2016 was a blow to his pride.

Further losses to Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford were later roadblocks, but like Hamed, he signed off in style with a final win over Amir Khan in 2022.

Kid Galahad

Another talent trained by Brendan Ingle in the heart of the Steel City, the three-weight contender challenged twice for world titles at featherweight in his career.

A first bid against Yorkshie rival Josh Warrington fell short, losing a 2019 split decision in Leeds, but Galahad came again 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There, he stopped future world champion Jazza Dickens late on behind closed doors to claim the vacant IBF strap and add his name to the sport's honour roll.

Galahad's reign was short, losing his belt by sixth-round knockout to Kiko Martínez in his next fight. He has not fought since 2022, but has not officially retired.

Johnny Nelson

The longest-reigning cruiserweight champion of all time, there's a case to be made that more people recognise Nelson as a pundit than a powerhouse these days.

But in his prime, the Sheffield star was an absolute machine, defending his crown against thirteen different opponents - another record - over a lengthy career.

That included cruicial wins over Sione Asipeli, Ezra Sellers and Alexander Petkovic, as well as a split-decision draw to retain his WBO title over Guillermo Jones.

Nelson retired without losing his strap in the ring, ending a glittering second-half imperial phase that earned him plenty of devoted fans across the sport.

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