Briton Dalton Smith defends his WBC light-welterweight title against Dominican Republic's Alberto Puello on Saturday after stunning Subriel Matias in January. Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew explains why an Adam Azim fight at Hillsborough could make Smith a household name.

Dalton Smith has everything it takes to become British boxing's next superstar.

He's one of the best fighters in this country, pound-for-pound, and I'd even go as far as saying he's a better boxer than I ever was.

But there's a difference between being a brilliant fighter and becoming a household name. I know that from my own career.

My old mate David Haye was the fighter who took my popularity to another level entirely. The whole country thought I was going to get knocked out, but the British public love an underdog story and when I woke up the morning after beating Haye for the first time, my profile had exploded.

Suddenly, grandmothers were stopping me in the street telling me they wanted me to punch his head in. Everybody had an opinion.

Dalton needs his own Haye - that rival who takes him from being known among boxing fans to being recognised by the whole country.

Adam Azim could be that man.

It's a rivalry which has been brewing for years and I'd love to see them fight at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. It would be a monster fight.

But before any of that, Dalton has a massive job to do against Alberto Puello on Saturday. A defeat would be a massive blow for British boxing because this kid is one of the brightest lights we've got.

I've known about Dalton since his days on the Great Britain amateur squad. I was surprised he didn't stay amateur for the Olympics because I fancied him to win a medal. But look at him now.

Dalton isn't somebody who says outrageous things like Tyson Fury or creates controversy like Derek Chisora. He does his talking in the ring and I respect that.

He showed us just how good he was by dethroning the much-feared Matias in New York. I told Eddie Hearn on the morning of the fight that Dalton would stop him. Eddie couldn't believe it, but I was absolutely convinced.

It was a phenomenal performance, but what makes Dalton so special is his timing.

He reminds me of another brilliant Sheffield fighter, Kell Brook. He's not necessarily the strongest, quickest or sharpest, but technically he does everything really well. He catches opponents in the middle of exchanges with perfect timing.

I admire his relationship with his father and trainer, Grant, who has allowed Dalton to travel and learn from different trainers.

I've had coaches who wouldn't entertain bringing somebody else in to help. Grant understands that no trainer knows everything and Dalton has benefited enormously from that.

People are overlooking Puello, which is dangerous. Even though Matias beat him, I genuinely believe this is the toughest fight of Dalton's career.

He's a southpaw with a phenomenal work rate and a granite chin. I've hardly ever seen him badly hurt.

But Puello is easier to hit than most southpaws because he doesn't use his stance particularly well. I wish I'd faced a few like that during my career – unfortunately, I had to deal with some southpaw guy called Oleksandr Usyk.

My only slight concern for Dalton is his work rate. He can't afford to start slowly or he could find himself four or five rounds behind.

He must approach every round as a new fight. Don't go looking for the knockout. Go in there looking to win eight, nine or 10 rounds.

If he stops Puello, I'll regard him as clearly the best fighter in the division. Even beating him on points would be a brilliant achievement.

Afterwards, I don't want to see him jumping through weight divisions chasing big names.

Marvin Hagler showed you can become a legend by dominating one division. Stay at light-welterweight, unify the belts and make everybody come to you.

Dalton has already achieved his dream of becoming world champion. Nobody can ever take that WBC green-and-gold belt away from him.

I know he dreams of fighting at Hillsborough and I understand exactly what that means. Winning the WBC title at Goodison Park, the former home of my beloved Everton, was my lifelong dream, which I achieved by knocking out Ilunga Makabu in 2016.

Dalton needs the right opponent for his own special night and to make him into a mainstream star.

There are huge names out there and Dalton is capable of competing with the very best. But for me, Azim would be the one.

There is nothing quite like a domestic rivalry and the atmosphere would be incredible. Two top British fighters, a genuine rivalry and promoters Hearn and Ben Shalom going at each other in the build-up.

Azim is lightning fast, possibly the quickest fighter in British boxing pound-for-pound. But timing beats speed, and that's what makes this rivalry so fascinating.

I'd love Azim to win a world title first, then they could meet in a unification fight. It could even become a trilogy.

But beating Puello is no formality and Dalton cannot afford to lose focus. Then we can start dreaming about Azim and Hillsborough.

Tony Bellew was speaking to BBC Sport boxing journalist Kal Sajad.