Fans in attendance at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England and those watching from home on DAZN are in for an exciting tilt Saturday night as Dalton Smith puts his British super lightweight title on the line and tries to capture the vacant Commonwealth strap against Sam Maxwell.
With the stakes high in this pivotal matchup, DAZN analyzes the keys to victory for both fighters.
Sam Maxwell’s keys to victory
Keep left hand high and tight
Maxwell’s corner was essentially begging for him to keep his left hand high and tight by his temple against Alejandro Meneses. He didn’t take heed and was vulnerable to right hands all night, including the shots that paved the way for a ninth-round TKO loss in that April 2022 fight. More than a year later, Maxwell should have remedied this lingering issue. If he has, he’ll be that much more game against Smith. If he hasn’t, the stalking, methodical Smith would just need to time a right hook to do similar damage that Meneses did.
Look to assert his own jab
Watch Smith and you'll notice he does a solid job of planting his lead leg into the mat and carving out his ring real estate, where he pumps his jab and begins to generate his offense. To negate that comfort zone, Maxwell must make it a point to insert his own stinging jab even if it's in traffic. After all, it could be the only way that he sullies up the fight enough to make it more of his scrap than Smith’s style.
Touch Smith with left to set up and uncork power right hand
Maxwell has power in his right hand and should look to properly set it up with a glancing, even grazing left. Even a partially-landed left can do wonders toward Maxwell setting up, sitting on and unloading a fight-changing right.
Dalton Smith’s keys to victory
Feint, then be assertive with jab early
Go back and watch the opening rounds of Smith vs. Billy Allington from this past February. Smith won the bout by unanimous decision but was overly cautious during the opening rounds. It’d behoove the Sheffield native to feint more before firing his jabs. That way he could catch Maxwell early and assert the jab as his weapon of choice leading to greater output as the rounds accumulate.
Create and control ring real estate
Connected with asserting his jab early is creating and controlling the ring with spacing. Accomplishing that will negate Maxwell’s power and make it a long night in Yorkshire for him. Using that jab to create a distance early could also be the recipe for a very measured Smith to walk Maxwell down with power shots as the bout goes on.
Piece together combinations with hooks
An overly respecting Smith could find himself in trouble with Maxwell’s power if he doesn’t let his hands go enough. Vital to that is Smith asserting that jab and taking chances with power shots, especially that right hook. As aforementioned, if Maxwell hasn’t cleaned up his guard with that left hand, Smith should find him ripe and more than susceptible to a compact right hook over the top for major damage and quite possibly a highlight-reel victory that bolsters his profile at super lightweight.