Eddie Hearn is looking at the possibility of matching up lightweight contender Maxi Hughes with Andy Cruz or junior welterweight Dalton Smith.
Smith, 17-0 (13 KOs), cemented his position as mandatory challenger for the WBC 140lbs title with a first-round stoppage victory over Walid Ouizza for the European title on January 25. With Alberto Puello and Sandor Martin fighting for the vacant belt in March, and with them likely to make a voluntary defense before facing Smith, Hearn is looking for a big-name opponent to face Smith in the summer.
The fight that has been called for is a domestic dust-up between Smith and junior welterweight rival Adam Azim. Now 13-0 (10 KOs), Azim picked up the IBO title with an eight-round beatdown of former titleholder Sergey Lipinets. Azim was quick to call out Smith’s name after his victory, but in his next breath he insisted the fight needed to marinate.
Hearn seemed frustrated at the situation and spoke to BoxingScene about what could be next for Smith.
“Hopefully Adam Azim, but he’s got to marinate a little bit, apparently, so I don’t know,” Hearn joked. “I mean, it’s obviously very disappointing that they don’t seem to want that fight, but, look, Dalton’s mandatory for the world title and we need a big name.
“You know, if it’s not Adam Azim, we’re willing to risk our mandatory position to keep on growing that star, that profile and that brand. So, yeah, we’ll see what’s next, and expect to see him out early summer.”
Last week, Hearn revealed that the plan is for Smith to headline a big show in the summer in his home city of Sheffield, England. An opponent that has been rumored to face the growing star is lightweight contender Maxi Hughes. Hughes, 28-7-2 (6 KOs), has faced some big names at 135lbs, including George Kambosos Jnr and William Zepeda – losing to both, albeit Kambosos controversially. Hughes is coming off a victory over Gary Cully and also resides just a few miles down the road, in Doncaster, England. A local derby between the two would surely sell out the Sheffield Arena and is of interest to Hearn.
“We’ve offered that fight to Maxi [Hughes] in the past, but to be fair to him, he is at 135lbs,” said Hearn. “So there’s two fights I like for Maxi Hughes. One is Andy Cruz, and the other one is Dalton Smith – but [Hughes] would have to make the jump to 140lbs.
“It’s a brilliant all-Yorkshire fight. It’s just whether he’s up for making that jump. I mean, he’s been at lightweight for … he used to box at 140lbs, actually, and he’s been at 135lbs for a long time. So, yeah, we’ll see if that’s a possibility.”
Hughes has said he would be willing to face fellow lightweight contender and Olympic gold medallist Cruz.
“It’s not really been offered [to Hughes],” said Hearn. “I mean, I saw him saying he’d be up for the fight, and when I look at the governing bodies, we need to position Andy Cruz as a mandatory for the world title. Maxi’s well-ranked with the WBA, and he’s virtually mandatory with the IBF as well. So, yeah, [Hughes] is in a good spot, and he needs a big fight.”
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