British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn spoke to The Independent today ahead of Dalton Smith’s upcoming fight.

Smith is going toe-to-toe with Mathieu Germain this weekend, in their highly anticipated super lightweight bout.

The Briton kicked off his year by defeating Frenchman Walid Ouizza in one round, at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, to claim the vacant EBU European title in January.

Hearn took to social media to share a promotional video ahead of the fight, captioning the post: “Final hurdle before the world title shot…” in regards to Smith’s upcoming bout at Sheffield’s Canon Medical Arena on April 19.

The Chairman of Matchroom describes Smith as a ‘World Champion in waiting’, explaining to The Independent: “It’s because of his string of consistent performances and the improvement in training camp but also him as an individual, maturing into, I think getting his man strength all round – physically and emotionally.”

Hearn outlined his approach to facing the challenge of not overlooking opponents, especially when his fighters are on the cusp of major title opportunities: “I think that’s where your mentality really counts, the way you go about a training camp. Obviously Smith’s trainer is his dad, and he’s quite a taskmaster in himself Grant, I don’t think they’ve let him underperform.

“Dalton’s very meticulous and he’s a real perfectionist so I think with that in mind, you know that when he’s in these training camps he is preparing to the best of his ability.

“But, sometimes you see another level in these fighters when they step up and that’s what we believe we will see when we fight [Alberto] Puello as well. I think it will be a business man like performance on Saturday.”

Hearn also explained how he believes Smith has the potential to be ‘world class’ adding: “I think, you know, when you talk about British boxers who are world class and have the potential to be around for a long time fighting at the top level – he is like, the number one in Britain in that respect. He’s ready to go now, he’s at that level and I think he has the mentality and the work ethic to be around for a long time.

“This Saturday we’ve got a much tougher test in Germain, but again, if you’re an elite operator you take these guys apart. I think once he does that on Saturday, he’s ready for Puello.”

The undefeated 28-year-old has been named the Mandatory Challenger to the WBC world title which is currently held by Puello, who defeated Spain's Sandor Martin last month in a close contest to land the vacant title.

“This is my world title fight," said Smith. "That’s why I’ve put a lot into my camp. I’ve flown sparring partners from the other side of the world over for this. I know what can come after this fight.

“If Mathieu Germain thinks I’m overlooking him or thinking too far ahead then he’s wrong. He’s my world title fight.”

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