Interviews
EXCLUSIVE: Denzel Bentley – Becoming a Powerhouse
“Good question, can you hear the last bell? I want to keep him. I think I can stop him, but regardless, I’m prepared for 12 rounds. If I see an opportunity, I take it, if not, I feel comfortable making the rounds. I don’t force you to do anything.”
As Denzel Bentley prepares for the biggest fight of his professional career to date, he imagines his opponent on the canvas as the referee counts more than ten seconds.
Felix Cash will enter the ring with the Commonwealth title hanging from his belt, but Bentley intends to leave the ring after adding the Commonwealth title to his British title.
It’s a fighting week, but “2 Piercing” came out on top proboxing-fans.com while walking down memory lane, recalling his first day at the boxing gym: “I remember it was weird. I’ve never been to a boxing gym before.
“Everyone was already training. I think I might have been delayed, everyone was a bit hostile. I thought, “Jesus, that’s a bit rude.”
“I thought, ‘Oh, I want to box’ – they asked if I could box and I said no, and they said, ‘Well, you’re delayed, the locker rooms are over there, sign your name and keep fighting.’ I think, “Will no one show me this or walk me through the session?”
It wasn’t until several months later that Denzel was trained to properly punch, pull, and weave while correcting his posture. A year later, Bentley competed for the first time as an amateur.
Under the influence of Adrien Broner and Floyd Mayweather, Denzel may have approached boxing with pound signs, but the Battersea fighter quickly realized that it wasn’t just about billions.
“[I started boxing because I thought] there’s a lot of money to be made, which is why I thought this boxing game was kind of infirmed. Broner had “On Billions” and Mayweather had a lot of stuff on YouTube and I thought, “This is infirmed,” so I got into it!
“Once you start, of course [boxing] you realize it’s far from it. This is the highest level in the sport and not everyone can have it. I just started liking it and I loved it. I just wanted to continue boxing whether I made it or not.
Denzel, now in his delayed teens and early twenties, not only liked science, he was good at it. Often praised by his peers, this motivated Bentley to pursue the career of his dreams.
“I was told I was good at it. Every time I sparred with someone they asked how many fights I had and they said, “You’re good for two fighters” and stuff like that, so I was always good in terms of the level of experience I got. had.
“I think I really wanted to take it seriously when I dropped out of college. I don’t remember what made me do it, but I dropped out of college because I wanted to do it.
“I think it was because I just watched it more and I just thought I wanted to be there, on the gigantic stage. I just thought, “I’m going to drop everything I’m doing and stick to boxing and grinding it out.”
“I studied sports science but dropped out to pursue boxing.”
Battersea may not be synonymous with boxing, but it has had links with the sport for years. Just a few years ago, the likes of David Haye and George Groves trained at the former McGuigan’s Gym location.
Go back even further and you’ll see Howard Eastman working on the roads around Battersea. The 26-year-old recently began comparing himself to Eastman, a figure he admitted he had no idea about until recently.
Denzel now praises the rise of boxing in his area and credits Carney’s Community for what it does for the community.
“They are very helpful, man. Children are energetic and need something to burn off their energy.
“Youth clubs are no longer as popular as those where there are sessions that everyone wants to take part in, boys and girls, they just want to burn some energy instead of just going to school and coming home so they don’t just bored or hanging around outside for no reason.
The determining factors for Denzel’s success are the time and strenuous work put in and continue to be put in by his parents, especially his mother, whom he considers his inspiration.
“She puts in a lot of work, she did a lot to make us the people we are today. Of course, my dad is still around, but he lives in Ghana, he also works there. They both do their best to make sure that all four of us are good, decent people.
“I saw how strenuous they worked, how strenuous they worked, and they didn’t bring me here to waste opportunities. They weren’t born here like me, the opportunities were different, especially at the time they were born.
“Now we were born in a place where everything is at your fingertips, if you put in the work you can go out there and work your ass off and it will be easier than they had to work strenuous to get it, so I can” I don’t get any slack because it’s it’s a kick in the balls for them to do all this and I have no intention of pursuing him [my goals]”
His next goal is to win the Commonwealth title and add to the British middleweight belt he already holds. This Saturday night’s opponent will be Felix Cash, who is another undefeated fighter crossing enemy lines to fight on the Queensberry Promotions show.
“I’m joyful to get this fight, I’m joyful to have another title on the line, I’m joyful to get another belt. It’s bigger than [Mark] Heffron fights and it takes me to another level.
“It helps me get recognition. All the strenuous work I had put in was finally noticed and it was finally paying off.”
After whispers that the Matchroom fighter might have chosen a different route, there were doubts whether this fight would happen, but now we are here and the fight will take place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.
“No, honestly, I didn’t think it would happen, but it did, so I can’t complain. I thought they would go the European route, but Felix said he wanted to be British champion and wanted to take that route to keep the game fair for him.
“But it might have been a situation where they couldn’t get it [European title] fight for the line and it was still an option, but either way I don’t care how the fight happened, as long as it’s going on and it’s happening, I’m joyful with it. It’s time to shake things up, man.
A powered Bentley can accelerate from 0-60 in the blink of an eye and Denzel will be keen to take on Cash, who has defended his Commonwealth title twice, with the engine full of petrol and there will be no backing down.
Mikaela Mayer became the up-to-date WBO welterweight champion at Madison Square Garden in Novel York after winning a majority decision to dethrone Sandy Ryan in the Huge Apple.
Derby-born Ryan (7-2-1, KO3) won the vacant belt after scoring a massive points win over Marie Pier Houle in Cardiff last April, with the latter being eliminated in March, forcing Terri Harper to withdraw after four rounds in Sheffield . Mayer (20-2, KO5) entered this fight as a former unified super featherweight world champion, but was coming off a setback that unfortunately left her on the wrong side of a razor-thin split loss to IBF champion Natasha Jonas in January.
There was drama earlier when Ryan was covered in the paint by an unknown assailant, but the fight continued nonetheless and Mayer started well, rocking Ryan momentarily with a solid right hand in the opening throw. She also enjoyed a powerful second half, and although Ryan came alive in the third round with body shots, the American was generally the better of the first half thanks to her combinations and movement.
Throwing caution to the wind 👊#RyanMayer | JOIN @ESPN pic.twitter.com/dtqBiPmK97
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 28, 2024
The champion began to climb into the fight in the second half, in the sixth half she knocked Mayer’s head back with a brilliant left hook, and after Mayer burned energy fending her off in round seven, Ryan took full advantage, landing massive hooks to further drain the American’s energy in the eighth round, and both men discharge at the end of the round. The final two rounds were high octane, but both refused to move, with Mayer landing a solid combination in the final round that Ryan took well as the fight went in favor.
The 95-95 card was overturned by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 in Mayer’s favor and she was declared the up-to-date champion.
Xander Zayas (20-0, KO12) dominated the defense of his NABF and WBO NABO super welterweight titles, winning every round ten on all three scorecards against Damian Sosa (25-3, KO12).
LATIN CO-MAIN DID NOT DISAPPOINT 🫡@TwistedTea | #RyanMayer pic.twitter.com/6Ht89rzuLt
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 28, 2024
Featherweight prospect Bruce Carrington (13-0, KO8) had his fight extended by Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, KO6) and went home with the WBC Silver, WBO Intercontinental and NABF featherweight belts after a majority decision victory. Carrington issued two verdicts of 97-93, and the third card resulted in a draw of 95-95.
In the super lightweight division, Elvis Rodriguez (17-1-1, KO13) dominated in a ten-round victory over Kendo Castaneda (21-7, KO9). Rodriguez won all ten rounds on two scorecards, with the third giving him a 99-91 victory.
In the only fight that ended earlier, Rohan Polanco (14-0, KO9) defeated Marcelino Nicolas Lopez (37-5-1, KO22) in the sixth round of their super lightweight fight.
🥊 Marcelino Nino López 🇦🇷 peleó at Madison Square Garden, lamentamentamente cayó KOT6 in front of Rohan Polanco 🇩🇴. pic.twitter.com/JAuwe5i7YT
— Cristian Brossy 🎙️ (@CristianHB77) September 28, 2024
Super welterweight hope Vito Mielnicki Jr (20-1, KO12) was the next winner on the cards, but had to settle for a majority nod over Khalil El Harraz (16-6-1, KO2). One of the judges somehow ended the fight with a draw 95:95, while the others scored 100:90 and 98:92 in favor of Mielnicki.
In eight rounds, Delante Johnson (14-0, KO6) won the lightweight fight against Yomar Alamo (22-3-1, KO13). Johnson had two judges give it 78-74, with a third scoring it 77-75. Bantamweight hopeful Floyd Diaz (13-0, KO3) also won on the cards against Mario Hernandez (12-5-1, KO4).
With just six rounds on the card, Ali Feliz (3-0, KO2) could inflict his first defeat against Orlando Rashad Coulter (5-4, KO3) in the heavyweight division.
Former world champion David Benavidez shed airy on who he will fight next.
Benavidez has become one of the sport’s biggest stars over the past few years, with fans clamoring for a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez.
Unfortunately for the boxing world, the unified super middleweight champion, Alvarez, is reluctant to step into the ring with the “Mexican Monster,” who has decided to move up to airy heavyweight in pursuit of gigantic fights.
The most tempting fights include the fight with the talented Cuban David Morrell, who made his debut at 175 pounds in July.
There was excitement Wednesday after Benavidez announced on social media that a fight with Morrell could be next.
“I’m preparing something gigantic for you guys for my next fight. Wait for further information. If everything goes well and he agrees, I fight Morrell next.”
However, fans were disappointed today when the 27-year-old announced that talks had broken down and he would fight Jesse Hart next, not Morrell.
“I’ll fight Jesse Hart next, not Morrell. But Morrell is a future opponent.”
Although Hart is a two-time world title challenger, he has been most effective as a super middleweight, and at age 35, his best days are likely far behind him.
“Challenging Work” has five wins following a split decision loss to Joe Smith Jr in 2020, although their level is low and Benavidez represents giant improvement.
David Benavidez said reports about his potential next fight with David Morrell are not true, and he will face Jesse Hart in December.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) September 26, 2024
The Phoenix-born pressure fighter will be the clear favorite against Hart and will want to emulate him wide decision victory over former light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in April.
However, he will likely share fans’ frustration that he will have to wait until at least 2025 to secure the mega fight that has long eluded him.
There has been no official announcement regarding the Benavidez vs. Hart fight, but it is expected to happen in December.
On Friday night at York Hall, in a bizarre family celebration, former world champion Charlie Edwards attempts to win the European bantamweight title from champion Thomas Essomby, whose manager is Charlie’s younger brother Clear.
Wasserman promotes the Edwards vs Essomba fight as Channel 5 broadcasts it live in the UK.
Edwards’ (19-1, 7 KO) stock has been in decline in recent years, despite the Croydon fighter continuing his unbeaten streak, which has stretched to 11 fights since making a belated shot at a world title in 2016, when he was stopped by IBF flyweight champion John Riel Casimero in a thrilling display at the O2 Arena. Edwards has reset and learnt his craft, and in December 2018 he won the WBC flyweight title with a stunning points victory over Cristofer Rosales.
Edwards defended himself once, against a controversial no contest with Julio Cesar Martinez forced a change in weight.
Since then, “The Eagle” has boxed just four times in four years, all against lowly opposition, and was last seen in April when he scored a wide points victory over Georges Ory to win the vacant WBC International silver bantamweight title.
He will face a tough and experienced champion in Essomba (13-8-1, 4 KOs), a former Olympian who has never been afraid to travel and take risky opportunities. Born in Cameroon and now based in Sheffield, Essomba has an impressive list of opponents and despite eight defeats to his name, he has performed well each time, not being stopped by Lee McGregor until the 12th, final round in 2018.
He also worked with Clear Edwards, who lost on points in 2020. In May last year he travelled to Italy and won the European title by defeating Alessio Lorusso, then defended in his adopted Sheffield in February, taking a split decision against Elie Konki.
Prediction: Edwards starts out as the clear favorite in this one, and understandably so. Essomba will test him, but once Edwards gets through a tough first few rounds, he could take control and secure a wide enough victory to become the recent champion.
Wasserman’s prospects and tantalizing domestic clashes fill the bill
The undercard is only up in the eighth round as Germaine Brown (13-3, 4 KOs) takes on Grant Dennis (18-7, 3 KOs). Brown has lost twice in the English title fight, after decent performances against Zak Chellie and Mark Jeffers, while Dennis has lost four of his last five matches, including two on the schedule. Brown could do so on the break.
In six rounds, super lightweight newcomer Jesse Brandon (4-0, 1 KO) could go the distance for the first time with a unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Nunez (4-10, 1 KO). In the middleweight division, Joel Bartell (6-1, 3 KO) could rebound from his loss to Jordan Reynolds with a unanimous decision over Nikolas Dzurnak (7-7-2, 6 KO).
Lightweight prospect Brandon Olbrechts (6-0, 2 KOs) could also go the distance against Brayan Mairena (15-46-1, 9 KOs), while super lightweight Hannah Robinson (1-0, 0 KOs) should also triumph on the judge’s scorecard against Laura Reoyo (2-1, 0 KOs).
Atomic @Tomwelland04 can let go of hands 🧨
He hopes to break his professional record of 6-0 at York Hall on September 27th 👀@Ladbrokes | @SauerlandBros | #EssombaEdwards pic.twitter.com/cE6O9HEo5U
— Wasserman Boxing (@WassermanBoxing) August 15, 2024
The four-round fight will be headlined by the popular Tom Welland (5-0, 2 KOs), and the featherweight should emerge victorious on points against Darwing Martinez (8-23-2, 6 KOs), while Danny Boardman (1-0, 0 KOs) should do the same, also in the featherweight division against Yin Caicedo (10-21-4, 4 KOs).
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