Dalton Smith vs Walid Ouizza preview: British prospect to fight for European title
Can Smith increase public demand for a bout against Adam Azim?
Dalton Smith will battle Walid Ouizza this Saturday in Nottingham as he bids to become European super lightweight champion.
Smith (16-0, 12 KOs), is coming off the best win of his career in March 2024 - a fifth-round knockout over former world title challenger Jose Zepeda in his home city of Sheffield.
And now, Smith has an opportunity to match the accomplishment of British rival Adam Azim, who was European Champion from 2023 to 2024.
Despite being ordered by the European Boxing Union to defend the belt against Smith last year, Azim decided to vacate and face Harlem Eubank instead, which failed to materialise.
Regardless, Smith and promoter Eddie Hearn have remained optimistic that a bout with Azim will happen if both maintain their undefeated records.
Since turning pro in 2019, Smith has gained a reputation for his punching power and the bookies are picking the Yorkshireman to win by stoppage against Ouizza (19-2, 8 KOs)
However, Ouizza is on an 11-fight winning streak, following two losses in 2017 and 2018 against respective opponents,Brice Bassole and Sandy Messaoud.
Furthermore, the Frenchman ruined two unbeaten records in 2023 by overcoming Alejandro Moya via split decision and Charlemagne Metonyekpon via majority decision.
Still, Ouizza has only fought outside of France once and Smith is set to benefit from a big home advantage in Nottingham Arena - a venue where he made the third successful defense of the British title by outpointing Billy Allington over 12 rounds in 2023.
Therefore, there is a strong chance Smith will emerge victorious, either by knockout or decision, especially as Ouizza is not a massive puncher and the likelihood of him dropping Smith is low.
Smith needs another dominant performance to pile pressure on Azim and Ben Shalom to set up a highly anticipated domestic dust-up later in the year, which could headline a show in the UK or appear on a Riyadh Season card.
About the author
Dan D’Alessio is a professional journalist who works full-time as a reporter for a few newspapers in West Wales. All articles about boxing are written by Dan in his free time because he loves following the sport and takes pride in producing entertaining yet informative copy about the sweet science.