Things you didn’t know about Walid Ouizza
Sheffield star Dalton Smith (16-0, 10KO) challenges for the vacant European super-lightweight title against Frenchman Walid Ouizza (19-2, 8KO) on January 25 in Nottingham, live on DAZN.
The 140-pounders also clash for WBC #2 Smith’s WBC Silver title at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena. Smith-Ouizza kickstarts Matchroom Boxing’s UK schedule for 2025.
It’s Ouizza’s first fight in the UK, so who is the visiting champion? BBN have found out everything you need to know about the visitor before fight night.
Walid Ouizza
Walid Ouizza was born July 11, 1991, in Seine-Saint-Denis, France, and is now 33-years-old.
He was a Golden Gloves Vistula runner-up in 2013, he reached the French National Championships quarter-finals in the same year. He represented France in international tournaments as an amateur.
Walid’s pro debut was on January 8th, 2016, winning on points against fellow Frenchman Jeremy Lauret in Marseille.
His two professional career defeats came early, within his first 10 fights, both narrow points decisions.
He won the French super-lightweight title in his 16th fight in June 2021 via second-round stoppage.
He then won the European Union title three fights later in 2023 via split decision against 17-0 Spaniard Alejandro Moya in Barcelona.
Ouizza won the European Silver super-lightweight title in his penultimate fight in November 2023. He became the first-ever EBU Silver champion, as the belt was only introduced in 2023.
Then he collected the WBC Francophone belt in his last fight in July 2024.
So far, Walid has had 21 bouts and 115 rounds, with a 42.11% KO ratio.
His opponents’ combined records adds up to 165-130. Dalton Smith’s totals 204-280.
Ouizza is the second-ranked super-lightweight in France, behind former IBO World champion Mohamed Mimoune.
On a stacked undercard, Ellie Scotney (9-0) defends her IBF & Ring Magazine Super-Bantamweight World Titles against Mea Motu (20-0, 8 KOs), whilst Conah Walker (14-3-1, 5 KOs) challenges Harry Scarff (13-3, 3 KOs) for the British & Commonwealth Welterweight Championships.
Mark Dickinson (7-1, 2 KOs) challenges undefeated Reece Farnhill (11-0, 4 KOs) for the English Super-Middleweight belt, whilst undefeated rising homegrown stars Ibraheem Sulaimaan (6-0, 4 KOs) and Hamza Uddin (3-0, 1 KO) return to action.