The fighter who gave up father-son bond for his boxing dream

Since becoming a boxer, Dalton Smith has made numerous sacrifices.

They include evenings with friends, travel dates abroad, and putting aside all the other indulgences that young men in his hometown of Sheffield consider rites of passage during their transition from youth to adulthood.

But their deepest regret is probably their biggest one, perhaps. The 27-year-old reveals it involves his own sense of self and bond with his father and trainer, Grant, before Saturday’s crucial fight against Mathieu Germain.

Boxing is “a sport that completely overtakes your identity,” he said. According to Smith, “I’ve been doing it since I was six, and I’m labelled as a fighter.”

Every fighter can only reveal who they really are once their careers are over.

I’m referring to the individual, not the fighter.

“You don’t really know who you are as a person or what you’re all about until you give it all up and make a decision.”

All I know about me is how strong I am right now. And to be honest, that’s the only thing I need to know right now.

This weekend’s visit from Canada will be Smith, who has already won the British, Commonwealth, and European crowns at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield.

The gym is a short walk away, and Smith has chosen to give up another aspect of his life to pursue greatness under Grant’s watchful eye.

He acknowledges that “I won’t have my dad until I retire as just my dad.” Before I stop fighting, we won’t be able to have the kind of relationship we’d like.

We cannot think of ourselves as parents and children. Because I’m a fighter, a warrior, and I have to prepare for war, we must see ourselves as boxers and coaches. Before I stop, we won’t have the attachments we want.

Although Smith’s comments reveal why he calls boxing “the loneliest sport of all,” he says it would be mistaken to interpret them as a plea for sympathy.

Smith hopes to have earned the WBC light-welterweight belt when he eventually embarks on that discovery journey.

beating Germain would expand Smith’s unblemished professional record to 18-0, giving him the chance to almost certainly get a chance to visit the Dominican before Christmas, and it would also make Alberto Puello the top contender to win.

They might have ended up in a conventional relationship if they had chosen to pursue their dreams together. Smith explains that by doing this, he and Grant have demonstrated their mutual respect.

It demonstrates how much we are willing to accept that we are father and son in the same way that others might view it until I give up, he continues.

We are seen as more than just a father and son, in fact, because of the position we are in.

“Don’t get me wrong, it can be challenging at times. We can have some of the biggest fallouts at the gym, but when we succeed together and understand how difficult it was to make sacrifices, it just feels so special.

After recovering from an injury that kept him out of action for almost a year, Smith celebrated his return with a round that defeated Walid Ouizza.

He later gave up on the European strap during that contest.

Smith claims that despite having a complicated relationship with his father, the gym and his training partners still give him a sense of “family set-up.”

The biggest rows and biggest love are inside. However, that’s what families are: having disagreements and still having love, according to Smith.

I’m not altering anything that has led me this far, I say.

“Dad knows me better than anyone else,” he says. Because he has witnessed me in numerous situations both inside and outside of the ropes, he probably knows me better than I do.