Dalton Smith kicked off big-time boxing in 2026 with a star-making performance to dethrone WBC super lightweight champion Subriel Matias.
Two-time world champion Matias headed into the fight with a formidable record, having claimed 22 of his 23 wins via knockout. The bout was also cloaked in controversy after the 33-year-old Puerto Rican was allowed to defend his title despite failing an out-of-competition test for the banned performance-enhancing drug ostarine in November 2025.
Sheffield hero Smith took all of this in his stride, going away from home to Brooklyn's Barclays Center to outbox Matias in the opening round before engaging in a ferocious back-and-forth with the 140-pound division's most feared puncher.
Smith's bravery was rewarded in round five when he badly wobbled Matias with a pair of one-twos before smashing his foe to the canvas, face-first, with a winging right hand. Matias beat the count but was in no position to continue, and the 140-pound division had a new king.
The moment Dalton Smith became a world champion with his stoppage over Subriel Matias 🍿 pic.twitter.com/5V5URX0zl8
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 11, 2026
British boxing also had a new male world champion, continuing a sharp uptick from September 2024, when there was only one.
Below is a breakdown of every current, reigning world champion in men's and women's boxing from the UK.
MORE: Dalton Smith exclusive interview with AllSportsPeople
Every male boxing world champion from the UK
Nick Ball
- Division: Featherweight
- Record: 23-0-1 (13 KOs)
- Title: WBA
After the frustration of his disputed draw with WBC champion Rey Vargas in March 2024, Liverpool pocket rocket Ball claimed his slice of gold at 126 pounds with a brilliant split-decision triumph over Raymond Ford three months later. Solid defences against Ronny Rios, TJ Doheny and Sam Goodman have not quite scaled those heights, and he might have to when former two-weight world champion Brandon Figueroa makes the trip to Merseyside in February.
Lewis Crocker
- Division: Welterweight
- Record: 22-0 (11 KOs)
- Title: IBF
Crocker was widely viewed as fortunate to get away with a DQ win his first fight with Paddy Donovan, having been beaten up for the vast majority of the contest before Donovan struck him hard and dropped him after the bell in round eight. But the Belfast man upset the odds at a raucous Windsor Park rematch with a superbly disciplined display in which he dropped Donovan twice and eked out a split decision. Money-spinning unification fights lie in wait in 2026.
Fabio Wardley
- Division: Heavyweight
- Record: 20-0-1 (19 KOs)
- Title: WBO
Wardley's power-punching prowess saw him address the one blemish on his professional record in shocking fashion, when he wrecked Frazer Clarke inside a round in October 2024, six-and-a-half months on from an engrossing 12-round draw. The one-time white-collar fighter continued to confound doubters in 2025, icing Justis Huni from well behind on the cards and outlasting Joseph Parker in an instant classic. Victory over Parker made Wardley the interim WBO champion and he was upgraded to full champion status when Oleksandr Usyk vacated in November 2025.
Jazza Dickens
- Division: Super Featherweight
- Record: 36-5 (15 KOs)
- Title: WBA
One of British boxing's great survivors, Dickens has already enjoyed a banner 2025. An upset decision win over Zelfa Barrett in Manchester was followed by a stunning fourth-round stoppage of Albert Batyrgaziev in Istanbul. The latter win earned the Liverpool southpaw the interim WBA belt at 130 pounds, and he was elevated to full champion when the governing body stripped Lamont Roach. Dickens was due to defend his crown against Hayato Tsutsumi in Riyadh on December 27, 2025 before his Japanese opponent withdrew due to an injury suffered in training.
Dalton Smith
- Division: Super Lightweight
- Record: 19-0 (14 KOs)
- Title: WBC
Smith's daredevil takedown of Subriel Matias deserves to be considered among the very best British world title wins on away soil. The 28-year-old put himself in the hallowed company of fellow Sheffield man Kell Brook, Lloyd Honeyghan and Tyson Fury with a victory right out of the top drawer. Indeed, there was plenty of Fury's second fight with Deontay Wilder in Smith's Brooklyn barnburner, as the technically superior fighter beating up the bully. A first defence in a huge Sheffield homecoming this summer awaits.
Every female boxing world champion from the UK
Lauren Price
- Division: Welterweight
- Record: 9-0 (2 KOs)
- Titles: WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Price wasted no time in transferring her crowd-pleasing style over to the pros. A one-sided, if messy, technical-decision win over Jessica McCaskill saw the Welsh southpaw win the WBA and Ring titles when her American opponent had to stop after nine rounds due to an eye injury from a head clash. Two bouts later, Price's win over British rival Natasha Jonas to take the WBC and IBF belts was a masterpiece. A frustrating period of inactivity has followed but an undisputed showdown with American star Mikaela Mayer would be huge in 2026
Terri Harper
- Division: Lightweight
- Record: 16-2-2 (6 KOs)
- Titles: WBO
Weight-hopping survivor Harper looked to have reached the end of the road when she was battered to a fourth-round defeat by then-WBO welterweight champion Sandy Ryan in March 2024. Having won her first world title at super featherweight and also reigned at super welterweight, Harper dropped back down to dethrone the gifted but green WBO lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon six months after the Ryan defeat.
Caroline Dubois
- Division: Lightweight
- Record: 12-0 (5 KOs)
- Titles: WBC
Dubois might have her eye on a unification with Harper in 2026. The former amateur standout, sister of heavyweight contender and one-time champion Daniel Dubois, defeated Bo Mi Re Shin in a March 2025 bout on the Jonas vs. Price undercard that descended into a slugfest before a far more assured 10-round triumph over Camilla Panatta in December. That was Dubois' first fight under Jake Paul's MVP banner.
Ellie Scotney
- Division: Super Bantamweight
- Record: 11-0
- Titles: WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring
Scotney is another Paul signing and her majestic unification triumph over Yamileth Mercado on the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano III undercard in New York was arguably the performance of 2025. The Londoner's quicksilver skills turned WBC champ Mercado into easy work. Mexico's experienced WBA champion Mayelli Flores is needed to complete the set.