Matchroom tried for July title shot for Dalton Smith

He brokers partnerships between rival promoters that few would have thought possible a few years ago.

His influence is unparalleled and fans in arenas and streaming on TV are loving it.

Sheffield's Dalton Smith may one day fight for a world title on a show that he bankrolls.

But, according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, it won't be in the next few months, as the businessman had hoped.

The Ring Magazine - which is now owned by Alalshikh - has disclosed how Hearn "pushed hard" to get Smith a WBC junior-welterweight title shot against Alberto Puello on July 12 in New York.

The Handsworth man is the WBC's number one 140-pound contender and is therefore the mandatory for Dominican Puello.

The magazine reported that Hearn tried his best to get Smith on the July card against Puello, but was "ultimately overruled" by Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season.

"Yeah, I was actually speaking to (boxing manager) Luis de Cubas before," Hearn told The Ring. "We were pushing to get the Dalton Smith fight on July 12.

"But His Excellency liked the Subriel Matias fight, so [they] went with that fight.

"But that's okay. It's coming up, and we know we've got the winner.

"Dalton's had two fights already this year and two hard camps, so he'll probably rest up now until September or October."

That gives the 28-year-old Steel City man four months to fine-tune his ambition to rule the world at super lightweight.

Meanwhile, Alalshikh continues to try and broaden the reach of boxing.

He has talked about hosting shows at Alcatraz Island, in mountain ranges, the Pyramids in Mexico, the Eiffel Tower and the Roman Coliseum.