There is no question Dalton Smith is one of the most exciting prospects in British boxing.
Already a British champion at super lightweight, many are hoping to see Smith challenge for a world title sooner rather than later, but when speaking to the 26-year-old for DAZN, he projected the aura of someone who is not concerned about a world title tilt in the immediate future.
One reason for this is the relationship with his trainer and father Grant Smith who has been in his corner since turning professional.
A father training their son is something which is a regular occurrence in boxing and quite often these relationships breed success, but for Smith and his father, it was different.
Grant was someone who was not already making waves in the sport and instead was learning on the job as revealed by Smith when discussing how this unique partnership began.
"I was playing football at five years old and then there was a boxing gym down the road, that’s where I started off which is Steel City now, the gym that my dad has got," Smith told DAZN when asked about how it all began.
"We both got into the sport at the same time, I was learning just like he was on the job, he seemed to pick it up very quickly and then obviously when I first went to the gym, he wasn’t full-time coaching, he was working, a single parent as well.
"He was learning on the job with me and then over the years he’s picked it up and we’ve worked together. It’s led us to where we are now and we’re both achieving things at the top of the game in boxing."
A fine balance needs to be struck, while a father-trainer needs to be putting the interests of family member's first, they also cannot allow the paternal instinct to spill into coaching and affect the fighter negatively.
When asked about how the father-son balance is struck inside the gym, Smith revealed that while it's not the best at times, he believes himself and Grant have found that perfect combination, and it's something that will last until he decides to hang up his gloves for the final time.
"I think it’s one way until I retire. My dad is obviously looking out for me as his son, but you’ve got to detach yourself from that father-son relationship," Smith said.
"I’ve got to see my dad as a coach to respect him in that way. It’s not easy, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but it works.
"Me and my dad will not have that father-son relationship that a normal person would until I retire, but I wouldn’t change it for the world because what we’re achieving, what we’re doing is, and the journey we’re on there’d be a million and one people in my position and I wouldn’t have it any other way."
While there may be times when the father-son relationship can become strained inside the gym, nothing will quite beat the feeling of success when a father watches his son achieve major honours, and for Smith, if he can fulfil his potential, it will be something both himself and Grant will look back on fondly.
"I’m just enjoying the ride, me and my dad will be travelling the world picking titles up. When I come to the end of my career, we can sit back and see how far we’ve come, I’m sure we will give each other a hug and a pat on the back.
"Sometimes it’s hard, but I wouldn’t change it."
But before Smith can push on and become a force across the world, he first needs to make another defence of his British super lightweight against Billy Allington on February 18 in Nottingham in a fight which can be seen live on DAZN (excluding Australia and New Zealand).