SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – Dalton Smith picked up a unanimous decision win over Mathieu Germain on Saturday in Sheffield, England.

Germain proved to be an awkward customer, moving around constantly from Smith’s attacks. The traveling Canadian was able to survive the contest but was dropped three times by Smith, with the final scorecards reading 117-107 and 119-105 twice, all in favour of Smith.

Smith is now the mandatory challenger for Alberto Puello’s WBC junior welterweight title and Smith’s promoter Eddie Hearn is adamant that his next fight will be for the world championship.

Smith, now 18-0 (13 KOs), was in no rush to get Germain out of there, and patiently stalked his opponent as the fight began. Smith threw a wild right that missed by a mile but seemed unfazed and continued to edge closer to Germain.

Smith was again patient in the second, waiting for his opportunity to land with bad intentions. Smith landed his first telling shot of the fight midway through the session. It came in the form of a left hand, which brought a smile from Germain. But the Canadian certainly felt it.

Germain, now 26-3-1 (11 KOs), started to get a little cocky after landing a couple of nice body shots. He then came in to land a left hook but also took one himself and hit the canvas in a heap. Germain returned to his feet but was on shaky legs, and thankfully for him the bell sounded just as Smith went in to finish the job.

Smith, 28, had Germain hurt again in the third. This time it was the right hand that caused the damage. Smith whipped over a right as Germain came in low and landed clean on the Canadian’s head. Germain was wobbled and nearly touched down, yet managed to survive the round.

In the fifth, Germain was now moving a lot to evade the heavy shots coming from Smith. The Canadian landed a nice left hand as Smith came in, but was on the receiving end of a low blow moments later. Smith was warned by the referee and Germain took his time before coming out of the neutral corner to restart proceedings.

Smith started to turn up the heat in the sixth. Germain was struggling to find a way around Smith as he came in and at times couldn’t keep Smith off. Smith targeted Germain’s body, whipping in left hands to the Canadian’s ribs.

Germain, 35, started the seventh a little better, landing a few jabs to the body before spinning away from trouble. He eventually slowed down, however, and Smith again landed several telling blows to his body and head.

Germain started to feel the impact of the hard shots Smith had been landing in the eighth. As Germain threw his right hand Smith sank in a left to the body which caused the Canadian to wince in pain. Smith seemed in no rush to secure a stoppage in the ninth, however. He again stalked Germain and waited for him to stop moving before sinking in power shots.

Smith had Germain hurt again after landing a left hand and, as the Canadian retreated to the ropes, Smith threw two more to send German falling through the ropes. The referee Victor Loughlin ruled it a slip.

Smith again seemed like he was in no rush to halt things in both the ninth and tenth, and during the break heading into the eleventh, his father and trainer Grant Smith urged him to pick up the pace. Smith came out for Round 11 and straight away followed a double jab with a right hand which sent Germain to the canvas. The Canadian returned to his feet and recovered from the shot well.

As the twelfth began, Smith landed a hard shot below the beltline of Germain and that forced the Canadian to drop to his knees in pain. He took his time to recover but Smith sensed that the Canadian was feeling the effects of the blow and pounced on him. He belted in two body shots and then landed a stiff jab which dropped Germain as he was retreating away.

The Canadian returned to his feet yet again and Smith, urged on by his home support, came in to try and finish the job. He pinned Germain into each corner of the ring for the remainder of the round but just couldn’t find a way to send Germain to the canvas for what would have undoubtedly been a third and final time.