YOU can only beat what is put in front of you.
It’s a familiar phrase you hear in boxing when fighters are matched against opponents they are widely expected to defeat. How often do we hear boxers claiming they find it difficult to get up for bouts which they are expected to win. A lack of motivation can transform itself into a banana skin which leads to an upset or, at the very least, a poor performance.
Denzel Bentley could have fallen into that trap in his last two fights but in his favour was having something to prove. The two-time British middleweight champion has been a bit of an enigma since winning the Lonsdale belt against Mark Heffron four years ago. His first defence was a disaster when Felix Cash capitalised on mistakes to take the title off him in under eight minutes. This was a time when a Matchroom fighter (Cash) fighting a Queensberry fighter (Bentley) was unheard of. How times have changed.
Bentley went to the well to beat Linus Udofia by split decision on Channel 5. That was must-win. The champion was too much for Marcus Morrison in his first defence before taking a trip to Las Vegas to challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for the WBO World Middleweight title in November 2022. A typically valiant British performance could have been much more had Bentley started better.
The next year proved to be a frustrating and difficult one. Blasting out Kieran Smith in one round did nothing for him. Inactivity was creeping in and last November he lost his British title once again when an inspired Nathan Heaney took advantage of Bentley’s sluggishness to take the much cherished championship back to Stoke.
Bentley was expected to win, he believed he didn’t have to be at his best to do so. But his partner was due to give birth and the father-to-be was back and forth to the hospital. Born premature their child spend the first 10 days of his life in hospital. When mum and son left Bentley had to ask his partner to go and live at her mother’s so he could focus on Heaney. When fight night came at the Manchester Arena it became clear in the first half of the fight he wasn’t going to beat Heaney.
Another comeback for “2 Sharp” arrived this year on May 24 against Danny Dignum who challenged Janibek six months earlier than Bentley did in 2022 and lasted 10 rounds less.
“If I go into the next fight and don’t win that, what’s my excuse, then,” Bentley said to Boxing News before the fight at York Hall.
Bentley got into the ring expected to win and had to impress. He got Dignum out of there in six rounds. “2 Sharp” was too sharp that night. Then last night back at York Hall Bentley faced Derrick Ozaze. Another English/British title level of opponent. He could have been a hard night’s work if Bentley wasn’t switched on.
“I’ve got to take a step back to move forward again,” he told BN last week.
“I think this could turn out to be a dogfight.”
The biggest bite belonged to Bentley when he landed a world-class uppercut in round two. The fight was over. Bentley has always been heavy handed but we haven’t seen it enough. Against Dignum and Ozaze he demonstrated just exactly what he can do to opponents if the chance presents itself.
Far tougher tests lie in wait and Bentley wants all of them. He is a world-class middleweight and he is using everything he has gone through since beating Heffron to push him towards his end game – becoming world champion. If he had toiled against Dignum and Ozaze he would have been slaughtered. Instead, he dismissed their challenge proving he is levels above.
Revitalised, much more experienced and enjoying fatherhood the 29-year-old is not just on the comeback trail but looking better than ever.