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When Brad Pauls beat Nathan Heaney to achieve a lifelong dream and win the British middleweight title in July, the 31-year-old didn’t disappear off on an extended victory tour. He decided it was time to push on.
Initially, it looked like Pauls, 19-1-1 (11 KOs), would be making a mandatory defence against the newly crowned Commonwealth champion, Kieron Conway. Instead, a deal was struck for him to fight the dangerous Denzel Bentley, 20-3-1 (17 KOs), in what has ended up as a fight with implications that stretch way beyond British level.
“It’s amazing. Obviously, as the champion, there were a couple of options with mandatories and stuff like that but Frank [Warren] gave me the option of fighting Denzel and it was just too good to turn down.” Pauls told BoxingScene.
“The gain from it was too big. Denzel was ranked second in the world and knowing that when I win, it would line me up for a world title shot. There was talk about the European at the time, so the gain was just too much so it was an easy decision, really.
“I know I picked a harder fight, fighting Denzel over my mandatory, but that’s what I’m in it for. I’m in it for the tough fights, the big nights, and to test myself.”
The vacant European title will indeed be on the line when the two fight this weekend but the recent news that Hamzah Sheeraz would fight WBC middleweight champion, Carlos Adames, on February 22 created a void at the top of the WBO rankings that Pauls and Bentley have filled.
Pauls was elevated to the number two position following Sheeraz’s decision to pursue Adames rather than unified WBO and IBF champion, Janibek Alimkhanuly, whilst Bentley was moved to number one.
The winner of Saturday’s fight will be in prime position to be named mandatory challenger for the talented Kazakh.
“Yeah, this will be life-changing. It’s just a good opportunity. It’s the main event again on a massive card and like Frank said, the winner gets a world title shot,” Pauls said.
“It’s snakes and ladders and you’re one win away from changing your whole life forever. For me, this is that fight.”
Pauls is going into the biggest fight of his life with some background knowledge. He and Bentley have sparred plenty of rounds together but although the rounds they shared will have been competitive, he knows that Saturday night will have an entirely different level of intensity.
“I was sparring him before either the first or the second Heaney fight but their gym’s ten minutes away, so we’ve been down loads,” he said.
“It’s nothing personal. We respect each other and that’s why I knew it was a hard fight when I picked it. I’ve sparred him and I know so it’s familiar.
“It depends how you look at it. I don’t really look at sparring at all. I don’t think it means too much. It’s different with smaller gloves and not everyone spars exactly how they fight so I don’t look into it too much but it’s a rough gauge, I guess, into roughly what you’re going to be coming up against.”
Although Pauls holds a win over Nathan Heaney – the man who relieved Bentley of his British title last November – he recognises that the Londoner represents an extremely real threat to his hopes of graduating to world level.
Since losing to Felix Cash more than three years ago, Bentley has dominated at domestic level and scored some devastating, quick finishes. Pauls knows that he must remain alert to the danger Bentley carries and not allow it to stop him from implementing his own tactics.
“I think he’s definitely above British level, in my opinion. He’s more than proven himself. But, like any fighter, he has strengths and weaknesses. Some styles he can look brilliant against, some styles not so good. It’s up to me to take advantage of that and apply my game plan.
“With fighting Denzel, he’s dangerous throughout the whole 12 and if you switch off for a second, it can be over. You’ve got to just stay disciplined, stay with your game plan.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79