Dalton Smith wants to use this Saturday's fight with Walid Ouizza as a springboard back into world class.

The European junior welterweight title fight takes place at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena and will be screened live worldwide on DAZN.

Last March, Smith (16-0, 12 KOs) announced himself on the world stage with a tremendous fifth round body shot stoppage of dangerous American Jose Zepeda (38-5, 29 KOs), but his plans of capitalising on the momentum the victory created were curtailed by a neck-shoulder injury.

The injury ruled him out of a scheduled European title fight in September and also nixed the rescheduled December date.

This Saturday, the 27-year-old from Sheffield, England finally gets the opportunity to add the prestigious European belt to his trophy cabinet against 33-year-old Frenchman Ouizza (19-2, 8 KOs).

“Walid Ouizza is a good fighter," Smith told Matchroom.

"He’s solid. I think he’s lost one or two, 50% KO ratio and he’s experienced. He's got the fights under his belt, a former European [Union] champion and this is a big opportunity for him as well. If he can beat me he’s up there with the big boys. That's why I’ve prepared 100%, I’m going to go in there and put on a great performance.

"I’ve got every single belt that I set out to get. I keep saying it, I’ve got two more to get - the European and world title. I’m days away from collecting the European title. I’ve trained hard and I’m looking forward to delivering another big knockout.”

Profile-wise, Ouizza represents a step-down from the well-known Zepeda but given the troubles of the last ten months, the fight represents an acceptable challenge for Smith.

Although he has yet to face anybody of Smith’s calibre as a professional, Ouizza has experience at minor title level and is unbeaten in over six years.

Smith is the WBC’s No. 2 ranked junior welterweight and a win will also keep him in prime position to challenge the winner of the upcoming WBC title fight between interim champion Albert Puello (23-0, 10 KOs) and Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs).

That fight has been placed on the undercard of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ WBA lightweight title defence against Lamont Roach, taking place at New York’s Barclays Centre on March 1st.

Smith has been touted as a prospective world champion for some time but a series of cuts and injuries have restricted him to just two appearances in 23 months.

The Zepeda win proved his quality and now he'll hope to efficiently beat Ouizza, moving closer to accomplishing his dual goals of claiming a world title belt and headlining at Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.

“I wanted to build momentum from the Zepeda win, to keep climbing higher up the rankings in the governing bodies. I’m still sat in a good place. It’s not like it’s been years. It’s been 10 months. Some fighters do that regularly,” he said.

“Looking forward at the year ahead, a big performance on January 25th will move me forwards to chasing that world title. I believe I’m a couple of fights away from the big nights at Hillsborough and selling that out. Every fight here now is massive for me, I want 2025 to be a big year for my career. I’m a couple of fights away from achieving my childhood dreams and completing everything that I’ve set out to do.”