Denzel Bentley is challenging Gustavo Olivieri to explain what changed after claiming the WBO president publicly agreed to let him make a voluntary defense before facing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next year.

Bentley’s response follows Olivieri’s explanation that the organization never received a formal petition to approve the proposed fight against Shane Mosley Jr. The dispute leaves two different accounts of how Bentley’s planned voluntary defense reached this point.

“Whether I had an opponent or not this guy agreed and tweeted I get a voluntary defence before the end of the year then fight yo-yo next year which I was happy to do so the question everyone needs to ask is what changed,” Bentley wrote on X.

That is the question Bentley wants answered. His argument is that Olivieri had already accepted the sequence: a voluntary before the end of 2026, followed by Hernandez in 2027.

Olivieri, speaking to Tru School Sports, described a process that still required formal approval.

“We never received a formal petition. From Zuffa, from team Bentley, or from team Mosley for this particular fight.”

The WBO president added that every championship defense requires the approval of its championship committee, whether the opponent is a mandatory challenger or a voluntary selection.

According to Olivieri, Bentley had no date, opponent, or venue when the mandatory obligation needed to be addressed. Hernandez had been the designated challenger since July, and his team submitted a petition seeking enforcement.

Bentley is scheduled to face Mosley on November 7 in London, but the WBO rejected his appeal to take a voluntary defense and instructed him to commit to Hernandez. sports.yahoo.com

The wording of Olivieri’s earlier post is therefore crucial. An explicit agreement allowing Bentley to fight a voluntary before Hernandez would give the British fighter a reasonable basis to question the subsequent ruling. Permission dependent on committee approval would leave Bentley’s team responsible for completing that process.

A public conversation with the president and formal authorization from the championship committee may be separate steps. Bentley’s latest response does not explain whether his team submitted the details needed to secure that authorization.

Hernandez has his own interests to protect. He pursued his mandatory opportunity and asked the WBO to enforce it. Accepting Bentley’s preferred timetable would require him to wait while the champion takes another fight.

Bentley says he was willing to face Hernandez next year. The disagreement is over whether he had permission to take another opponent first—and whether Olivieri’s earlier words support the permission Bentley believes he received.

Dalton “Thunder” Smith (20-0, 14 KOs) retained his WBC light welterweight title with a split decision over former champion Alberto “La Avispa” Puello (25-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday at a sold-out Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England.

Two judges scored the fight 115-113 for Smith, while the third had Puello ahead 115-112. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promoted the event, which aired on DAZN.

The opening six rounds were closely contested, with this writer’s unofficial card even after Puello took the fifth and sixth.

Smith responded well in the seventh and eighth, edging the action as swelling appeared beneath Puello’s left eye. Puello answered with stronger work in the ninth and tenth before Smith took the 11th.

In the final round, a left hand from Puello opened a small cut on Smith’s right cheek. Smith began celebrating during the final 30 seconds, although the divided scorecards showed how close the contest had been.

Lee Every refereed.

Giorgio Visioli Edges Maxi Hughes

Unbeaten southpaw Giorgio “The Italian Job” Visioli (12-0, 6 KOs) defeated veteran Maxi “Maximus” Hughes (29-10-2, 6 KOs) by majority decision over ten rounds to win the vacant WBC International Silver lightweight title.

Two judges scored it 96-94 for Visioli, with the third returning a 95-95 draw.

Visioli’s effective jab helped him through much of the first seven rounds. Hughes opened a cut over Visioli’s left eyebrow with a right jab in the eighth, but Visioli responded and finished strongly enough to secure the decision. Kieran McCann refereed.

Shannon Ryan Stops Emma Dolan In Rematch

Shannon “Kaos” Ryan (12-1, 3 KOs) avenged her previous defeat to Emma Dolan (9-2, 1 KO) with a first-round stoppage in their scheduled ten-round super flyweight rematch.

Around 20 seconds into the fight, Ryan dropped Dolan with a right hand to the side of the face. Dolan rose, but another right followed by a left sent her down again.

Referee Howard Foster stopped the contest at 40 seconds after Dolan regained her feet.

Edward Hardy Outpoints Diego Ruiz

Edward Hardy (9-0, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten with an eight-round points victory over Diego “El Profeta” Ruiz (28-16-1, 14 KOs).

Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick scored it 79-73 for Hardy, who controlled most of the action from the second round onward.

Both fighters maintained a high work rate during an active final round, but Hardy finished with a clear points win.

Joe Hayden Defeats Will Harrison

Joe Hayden (25-0, 4 KOs) handed Will “The Thrill” Harrison (8-1-2, 0 KOs) his first professional defeat in their eight-round welterweight bout.

Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick scored it 79-72 for Hayden.

Leo Atang Scores Three Knockdowns In First-Round Stoppage

Nineteen-year-old heavyweight Leo Atang (9-0, 8 KOs) dropped Jonathan “Chicito” Vergara (9-5, 5 KOs) three times before stopping him in the opening round of their scheduled six-round contest.

A right hand dropped Vergara within the first minute. Atang scored another knockdown with a right to the side of the head with approximately 30 seconds remaining.

A third right hand sent Vergara down again in the closing seconds. Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick waved off the fight after Vergara rose, just before the bell.

Chris Mulunda Shuts Out Harley Collison

Chris “Mulla” Mulunda (5-0, 0 KOs) defeated Harley Collison (3-9-2, 0 KOs) by points over six rounds.

Referee Michael Alexander scored every round for Mulunda, returning a 60-54 verdict.
Divine Omojor Wins Professional Debut

Cruiserweight Divine Omojor (1-0, 1 KO) began his professional career with a second-round stoppage of Goran Kozul (8-13, 2 KOs).

Referee Michael Alexander stopped the scheduled four-round bout at 1:52 of the second.

David Diamante served as ring announcer.

Update: Naoya Inoue’s agent, John Lewis, tells The Ring’s Mike Coppinger that he is working with Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith to finalize a deal for Inoue to fight Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in March in Tokyo.

The fight is not yet finalized, but the update indicates that Inoue is pursuing the matchup following the scheduling disagreement discussed below.

Robert Garcia Scrambles To Save Naoya Inoue Fight

Robert Garcia is suddenly scrambling to get Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez into the ring with Naoya Inoue. Not long ago, the trainer talked about making the Japanese superstar hold off until April or May 2027. Now he wants ink on paper immediately because he realized the chance might slip away completely.

Garcia wanted everything on his terms. The catch is that Inoue runs his own schedule. Tell an elite champion with featherweight plans to sit around, and he will just pack up and go.

“Send the fking contract,” Garcia told BoxingScenesuddenly daring Inoue’s side to lock down a March date.

That urgency tells the whole story. Garcia previously wanted another 118-pound tune-up first. By mid-October, he tried shrinking that timeline, telling The Ring that Bam could jump into the ring in December, then turn right around for Inoue in March.

Everyone is wondering if that scramble happened too late.

Giving Bam another look at bantamweight made sense in theory. Jumping up to meet Inoue is a massive leap, so wanting extra prep time makes total sense. Still, that plan only worked if Inoue decided to play along, and the Japanese star already hinted he had plenty of other targets.

Garcia clearly misjudged his leverage. Inoue showed he has zero problem walking away, flipping the entire script. It stopped being about what Bam preferred, turning into a fight to keep the chance alive at all.

Demanding a contract flips the pressure into the public eye. Garcia can claim Bam is ready right now, yet that does not wipe away months of trying to stall for a later date.

Nobody knows if Inoue shut the door for good. Still, the sheer threat of him moving up division ranks gave Robert every reason to panic.

Bam might watch the biggest payday of his life vanish without throwing a single punch. Garcia’s sudden shouting just sounds like a corner realizing their dream matchup will not wait on their calendar.