Jacket Gant / Top Axel Arigato / Trousers Ermenegildo Zegna / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini 

Hey Dalton, how’s it going?

I am all good, I’m currently in Tenerife training, so the weather’s nice.

Please send some sunshine our way, because London summer is horrible right now. Can you tell us about how you first got into boxing and what initially drew you to the sport?

I got into boxing from a young age. I think I was five, six years old. Obviously, you just get into it as something to keep you busy. And then it was, as I like to call it, my first love. So, you know, obviously, I really enjoyed the sport. And then once I started competing and started winning, winning national titles, I thought, you know what, I must be pretty good at this. I’ve not looked back since. Fast forward to the present moment now, and I’m having a very successful career.

Tracksuit top and shorts Umbro / Socks Uniqlo / Sneakers Manolo Blahnik / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini 

Five or six years old, wow. I don’t even remember what I did at that age, definitely not getting into sports, ha. With such a long career under your belt already, what has been the most memorable moment of your boxing career so far then?

It’s been a long career already. I’d probably say – from winning one of my first national titles at 11 years old to you know where I’m at as British champion WBC silver – and sometimes you have to pinch yourself, I think every achievement for me means just as much because I’ve worked just as hard for any win or anything I’ve achieved so every everything I’ve done in boxing means a lot.

That’s fair enough! How do you balance all that success and the potential pressures that come with it?

The pressure is always there, the more I achieve is going to come with more pressure. But at the end of the day, I just see it as what I’m achieving for myself and the people around me. So as long as I’m giving 100 percent, there’s no pressure where I’m going to fail because that’s why we work hard. We put 100 percent into everything we do to bring out the best outcome. So I tend not to put too much pressure on myself because at the end of the day, it is what it is. And I go in there, give it 100 percent and I’m always confident that I’m going to come back and achieve. And obviously, in not too long I’m going to become a world champion. So, yeah, it’s just about putting everything right, putting my priorities right, and doing all the right things.

Tracksuit top and bottoms A’r Designs by Rocky Mountain Featherbed via Clutch Cafe / Sneakers Manolo Blahnik / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini 

How do you and your team approach preparing for a fight against, let’s say, a specific opponent? Can you share an example of a strategy for preparing that worked particularly well?

Each fight is pretty much the same process. Obviously, we always do the basics and that is what’s got me to where I’m at now. But then as far as it comes down to opponents, you study your opponents, you come up with strategies and game plans, and we tend to do a 10-week block where the training intensifies, and we start putting new drills in, working on the strategies, and every possible situation we think we’re gonna be in a fight, and just preparing the best we can for those situations. And like I said, that’s why we do like a 10-week camp because you obviously have to peak at a certain time. So obviously you don’t want to over-train and we tend to get it right in those 10-week timeframe.

That makes sense. So obviously you’re in Tenerife at the moment training as well, what does a typical training day for you look like?

I mean, it’s all different. So obviously like now, I’m just maintaining. I am keeping up with my runs, doing the weights, the boxing, and then obviously as soon as we’re going to the 10-week block, everything’s structured, the sparring days are uncertain days, my weights, my conditioning. So, yeah, every day can be different. There’s never really a day that’s easy. It’s just about staying focused and making sure I’m looking after my body so I can prepare so I’m going into every session fully fit and preventing injuries and stuff like that.

Tracksuit top and bottoms Nigel Cabourn x Sunspel / Vest Sunspel / Sneakers Manolo Blahnik / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini 

That does sound pretty intense. So you have got a fight coming up, what can you tell us about that?

Yes, it’s booked in a diary for the 28th of September. Back in my hometown of Sheffield. It’s a big fight back in my hometown and they always come out in force, show great support and the nights are always good. But when I’m coming out into Sheffield Arena, putting on a show for my supporters, I will see the fights are getting bigger and bigger.

You know they say when the fight or any game in any sport is at home, your mindset is immediately like a lot better, like you’re more motivated. Is that true for you as well?

I mean, it’s always got something more special there. Every time I’ve walked out, all my supporters are there. There are thousands of people screaming. It gives you that feeling of home. You’ve got that army behind you and, yeah, it is a good feeling. But, I still go in there as soon as that bell goes, it’s the same as any other fight, there can be one person in the room or 10,000, and I just have to get done.

Jacket and trousers Applied Artforms / Vest Uniqlo / Sunglasses Oliver Goldsmith / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini

That is a good mindset. What advice would you give to young boxers from Sheffield and beyond, who look up to you and want to follow a similar pathway to you?

I used to think when I was younger, that day was never going to come. And fast forward, me thinking back then, it only seemed like a couple of months ago. Time goes fast and if you’ve got something you’re passionate about and you really want to do and you’ve got a vision, then work hard every single day towards it because that day will be in front of your eyes before you know it. So if you’ve got a vision and there’s something you want to do, then make sure you put that first.

That was such good advice and so true as well. So what do you hope to still accomplish in your career?

I think for any fighter to reach the pinnacle is to become a world champion. Something I’ve always said from being young was that one day I want to become a world champion. I’m not very far off from making that happen. And I’ve always said I want to win every single major belt in boxing. I’ve done that up to now. I need to win a European and a world title. Obviously, the goal is to become financially stable so that I don’t have to go into another job after boxing. I want to be financially good coming out of boxing. So like I said, these next six, seven years, what I got in my career, I’m going to make sure I do everything right.

Tracksuit top and bottoms Nigel Cabourn x Sunspel / Vest Sunspel / Sneakers Manolo Blahnik / Jewellery Giovanni Raspini 

It’s definitely going to happen. I just have one more question about your tattoos – can you tell us about their meanings?

I’ve got “Never Give Up On Life” on the front of my chest. That was because my dad got the same tattoo. He was in a pretty bad accident when he was younger, he said it was gonna take more than that to get rid of him off this planet. So he got that tattoo. I got that too at a young age, that was actually my first tattoo. So that’s something that means a lot to me. And obviously, Jesus on my arm, always looking over me. Every tattoo on me is some sort of saying or meaning that meant something to me throughout my career.

Thank you so much for your time!

Matchroom Boxing presents Dalton Smith vs Jon Fernandez at the Utilita Arena Sheffield on September 28 – live on DAZN.

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