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Smith claimed the belt in emphatic fashion in January, knocking out Subriel Matias at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center despite entering the contest as the underdog.
“It was unbelievable. It gets spoken about all the time and I think it will for many years to come,” Smith told BoxingScene of that memorable night. “But yeah, it was just a special night for me, my dad, my family, my supporters coming over. But I feel like that's in the past for me now. That's gone and there's more I want. I want to keep replicating that. But look, it's a moment I'll cherish forever and now we keep building.”
Smith was not only up against a heavy-handed champion on hostile territory. Matias had also tested positive for the banned substance ostarine, although the WBC allowed the fight to proceed.
Smith went ahead with the contest regardless and stopped Matias midway through the fifth round.
Now he faces another opponent with a failed drug test in his past. Puello tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene ahead of his scheduled title defense against Rolando Romero in April 2023 and was handed a six-month suspension.
“I think it stinks. I'm well against it myself,” Smith said. “But I went in there and proved last time, sometimes you need more than just steroids. I'll do it for the fighters in the sport that are clean.”
Smith believes performance-enhancing drugs remain a serious problem in boxing and wants to see tougher penalties for those who fail tests.
“You always have your suspicions on certain fighters, but yeah, I think it is a problem,” he said. “Of course, it's a problem. People are failing left, right and centre. And I just think the punishment needs to be a little bit harsher. If anything, they need lifetime bans, don't they? But it's out of my hands.”
Despite only winning his title in January, Smith has been handed a difficult mandatory assignment for his first defense.
With some champions choosing to vacate their belts rather than face dangerous challengers, Smith insists that taking such a route never entered his thinking.
“No, because as a world champion, you're going to be fighting the best. I've never avoided a fighter to this day, so why am I going to do it now?” he said. “I've proved myself every time. Even when I've been the underdog, when I've been written off, I've come out victorious.
“So I'll just carry on doing that.”
Smith and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have made no secret of their ambition to stage a fight at Hillsborough Stadium, home of his beloved Sheffield Wednesday.
Smith and Puello came face to face on the pitch during a recent match, with approximately 35,000 fans in attendance. It offered Smith another glimpse of what a future stadium fight could look like.
“It always gives me that feeling every time I go there, even doing a face-off. I get that energy from the fans, the crowd,” Smith said. “But that's something I want to achieve, but we will deal with that after Saturday. For right now, it's all about Saturday.
“Touch wood. God has his plan. But Saturday night, I come out victorious, I believe that's what will happen next.”
First, though, Smith must overcome the experienced Puello, who presents a demanding test for the newly crowned champion.
Smith, however, is confident of retaining his title. Asked for his prediction, he offered a short and simple response.
“And still,” he said.
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