WAITING GAME
Dalton Smith is one of the boxers waiting for AIBA to con rm weight classes
ARE you going to have to change your weight, or is it still up in the air?
We’re not 100 percent sure what AIBA’S doing at the minute but the talk is of light-welterweight, 64kgs going to 63kgs. For all I know it’s staying at 64kgs but there’s a possible chance it’s going to 63kgs for the Olympics.
How difficult would it be for you to lose an extra kilo?
One kilo doesn’t sound much but when you’re already tight on the weight it is. But once I speak to Mark Ellison, the [GB] nutritionist, we’ll drop that extra kilo but I’ll be big and I’ll be strong at the weight for the lads who are coming up from lightweight. So I think it will suit me.
Do you feel it’s like having the rug pulled out from under you?
You adapt your training to fighting at the weight you’re comfortable at… It’s so close to the Olympics now and they’re wanting to change everything around. It’s not really ideal.
What’s the mood like in the camp, when you’re not exactly sure which events will be qualifiers?
Well, I think the big one this year is the European Games and the World championships at the end of the year, which is the only Olympic qualifier this year. It’s frustrating with the weights because nobody knows if they’re staying or going… So you don’t know if you need to move up or down.
It’s just a waiting game on AIBA for what they’re going to change.
What’s the situation been with your hand injury?
I did it in a tournament in Turkey in October. I had a little tear in the front of my knuckle which has been repaired now... I should be back out in May so I’ve got plenty of time.
What was that tournament like?
It was a decent tournament. The European number one was out there. I beat the kid who beat him in the semis. So that was a good tournament for me. I beat some good Turks over there. I’m learning all the time in these tournaments because I’m fighting the world’s best. I boxed three Turks and I got the right decisions so I performed well out there. Apart from the hand injury it was alright.
Have you been doing a lot of training around Charlie Edwards?
I’m When round I’m Sunny not on and GB Charlie [at his father Grant Smith’s gym]. I’ve got the best of both worlds. I’m picking tips off GB, the experience they’ve got, and also [from] my dad and I train along with Charlie, now a world champion. So you can’t beat it.
When they pulled it off, it meant so much to the gym. You could see with the celebrations after the fight, it meant a lot to the gym and Charlie himself.
‘YOU COULD SEE WITH THE CELEBRATIONS IT MEANT A LOT TO THE GYM’