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Denzel Bentley

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Denzel Bentley
Personal information
Nickname2 Sharp
BornDenzel Bentley Ntim-Mensah
(1995-01-29) 29 January 1995 (age 31)
London, England
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
WeightMiddleweight
Boxing career
Reach72 in (183 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights26
Wins22
Win by KO18
Losses3
Draws1

Denzel Bentley Ntim-Mensah (born 29 January 1995)[2] is a British professional boxer who has held the WBO middleweight title since July 2026, after becoming interim champion in April 2026. He is also a three-time British middleweight champion and one-time European middleweight title holder.

Professional career

[edit]

Bentley made his professional debut on 14 October 2017, scoring a first-round knockout (KO) victory against Casey Blair at the York Hall in London.[3]

After compiling a record of 13–0 (11 KOs) he faced Mark Heffron in an eliminator for the British middleweight title on 12 September 2020 at the York Hall. Bentley scored a knockdown in the second round en route to a unanimous draw, with all three judges scoring the bout 95–95.[4]

The pair fought in a rematch two months later on 13 November at the BT Sport Studio in London, with the vacant British middleweight title on the line. Bentley landed a right hand in the second round, causing damage to Heffron's left eye. Bentley began to target Heffron's damaged eye over the next two rounds. At the end of the fourth, Heffron's eye was swollen shut, forcing his trainer to pull Heffron out of the fight, handing Bentley a fourth-round stoppage victory via corner retirement (RTD) to capture the British title.[5][6]

He lost his title on 24 April 2021, against Commonwealth middleweight champion Felix Cash, by third round technical knockout at York Hall.[7][8]

Bentley won the vacant British middleweight title on 13 May 2022, with a split decision success over Linus Udofia at Indigo at The O2 in London.[9][10][11]

He went on to hold the championship until 18 November 2023, when he lost to Nathan Heaney by majority decision at Manchester Arena.[12][13]

Bentley won the vacant WBO International middleweight title with a second round stoppage of Danny Dignum at York Hall on 11 May 2024.[14][15]

At the same venue, he successfully defended his belt thanks to another second round stoppage on 17 August 2024, this time against Derrick Osaze.[16][17]

Bentley became a three-time British middleweight champion, as well as claiming the vacant European title, with a unanimous decision win over Brad Pauls at Wembley Arena in London on 7 December 2024.[18][19][20]

After 16 months out of the competitive boxing ring, Bentley returned to face Endry Saavedra for the vacant interim WBO middleweight title at The O2 Arena in London on 4 April 2026.[21] He won by stoppage in the seventh round.[22][23]

On 20 July 2026, Bentley was elevated to full WBO middleweight champion after Janibek Alimkhanuly vacated the title.[24][25]

Professional boxing record

[edit]
26 fights 22 wins 3 losses
By knockout 18 1
By decision 4 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
26 Win 22–3–1 Endry Saavedra TKO 7 (12), 1:38 4 Apr 2026 The O2 Arena, London, England Won vacant interim WBO middleweight title
25 Win 21–3–1 Brad Pauls UD 12 7 Dec 2024 Wembley Arena, London, England Won British middleweight title, and vacant European middleweight title;
Retained WBO International middleweight title
24 Win 20–3–1 Derrick Osaze TKO 2 (10), 2:27 17 Aug 2024 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England Retained WBO International middleweight title
23 Win 19–3–1 Danny Dignum TKO 2 (12), 2:53 11 May 2024 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England Won vacant WBO International middleweight title
22 Loss 18–3–1 Nathan Heaney MD 12 11 Nov 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Lost British middleweight title
21 Win 18–2–1 Kieran Smith KO 1 (12), 0:45 15 Apr 2023 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained British middleweight title
20 Loss 17–2–1 Janibek Alimkhanuly UD 12 12 Nov 2022 Palms Resort Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, US For WBO middleweight title
19 Win 17–1–1 Marcus Morrison TKO 4 (12), 2:00 16 Sept 2022 York Hall, London, England Retained British middleweight title
18 Win 16–1–1 Linus Udofia SD 12 13 May 2022 Indigo at The O2, Greenwich, London, England Won vacant British middleweight title
17 Win 15–1–1 Sam Evans TKO 3 (10), 2:31 6 Nov 2021 Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England
16 Loss 14–1–1 Felix Cash TKO 3 (12), 1:24 24 Apr 2021 York Hall, London, England Lost British middleweight title;
For Commonwealth middleweight title
15 Win 14–0–1 Mark Heffron RTD 4 (12), 3:00 13 Nov 2020 BT Sport Studio, London, England Won vacant British middleweight title
14 Draw 13–0–1 Mark Heffron UD 10 12 Sep 2020 York Hall, London, England
13 Win 13–0 Mick Hall RTD 6 (10), 3:00 25 Jul 2020 BT Sport Studio, London, England
12 Win 12–0 Adam Grabiec TKO 2 (8), 1:35 21 Dec 2019 Copper Box Arena, London, England
11 Win 11–0 Kelcie Ball TKO 1 (6), 1:12 27 Sep 2019 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
10 Win 10–0 Pavol Garaj PTS 6 27 Apr 2019 The SSE Arena, London, England
9 Win 9–0 Julio Cesar TKO 2 (4), 1:42 8 Mar 2019 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Emmanuel Moussinga TKO 1 (8), 2:07 7 Dec 2018 Hilton Hotel, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Serge Ambomo TKO 2 (6), 1:55 19 Nov 2018 Hilton Hotel, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Daniel Urbanski KO 1 (6), 1:11 29 Sep 2018 York Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Christian Gomez PTS 6 14 Jul 2018 York Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Martin Kabrhel TKO 2 (4) 9 Jun 2018 Alexandra Palace, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Ashley Dumetz KO 1 (6), 1:28 10 Mar 2018 Camden Centre, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Sam Omidi TKO 1 (4), 0:44 8 Dec 2017 Hilton Hotel, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Casey Blair KO 1 (4), 0:44 14 Oct 2017 York Hall, London, England

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Rickson, Tim (12 November 2020). "Mark Heffron vs Denzel Bentley fight time, date, TV channel, undercard, schedule, venue, betting odds and live stream details". www.britishboxingnews.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "Denzel Bentley | Fighter Profile". FrankWarren.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "BoxRec: Denzel Bentley vs. Casey Blair". BoxRec. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Lewis, Ron (12 September 2020). "Mark Heffron, Denzel Bentley Battle To Unanimous Draw". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  5. ↑ Dixon, Tris (13 November 2020). "Denzel Bentley stops Mark Heffron after four rounds to win British middleweight title". The Ring. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Ron (13 November 2020). "Denzel Bentley Stops Mark Heffron in Four, Tommy Fury Wins". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Felix Cash wins British middleweight title in boxing's shadows as Fury-Joshua fee emerges". The Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  8. ↑ "Felix Cash ruthlessly stops Denzel Bentley to claim the British middleweight title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "Boxing Results: Denzel Bentley Beats Udofia In British Middleweight Classic". boxingnews24.com. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "Denzel Bentley Edges Linus Udofia With Split Nod For British Title". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "Denzel Bentley Beats Linus Udofia – Boxing Results". boxing247.com. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  12. ↑ "Nathan Heaney gets huge win over Denzel Bentley to claim British middleweight championship, Nick Ball beats Isaac Dogboe". TNT Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Fairytale in Manchester: Nathan Heaney does everything right to upset Denzel Bentley". Boxing News Online. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "Denzel Bentley Closes the Show by Stopping Danny Dignum at York Hall". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "Denzel Bentley makes statement with stoppage of Danny Dignum to secure WBO international middleweight belt". TNT Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "Denzel Bentley picks wondrous right uppercut to stop Derrick Osaze". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  17. ↑ "Denzel Bentley defends WBO International middleweight title with stunning KO of Derrick Osaze". TNT Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  18. ↑ "Denzel Bentley nears Zhanibek Alimkhanuly rematch after thrilling win over Brad Pauls". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "Denzel Bentley beats Brad Pauls in middleweight title thriller". ESPN. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "Magnificent 7 Boxing: Bentley defeats Pauls in middleweight title thriller at OVO Arena Wembley". TNT Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "Denzel Bentley 'relieved' and finally readying for Endry Saavedra". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  22. ↑ "Bentley drives home point with KO of Saavedra to win title". The Ring. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "Bentley Shocks Saavedra, Wins WBO Interim Middleweight Title". fightnews.com. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "Denzel Bentley elevated to WBO middleweight champion". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "GB's Bentley elevated to WBO middleweight champion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Liam Williams 		British middleweight champion
November 13, 2020 – April 24, 2021		 Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Felix Cash 		British middleweight champion
May 13, 2022 – November 18, 2023		 Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Meiirim Nursultanov 		WBO International
middleweight champion
May 11, 2024 – 2025
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Endry José Pinto
Preceded by British middleweight champion
December 7, 2024 – 2025
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Kieron Conway
Vacant
Title last held by
Hamzah Sheeraz 		European middleweight champion
December 7, 2024 – 2025
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Bilel Jkitou
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Janibek Alimkhanuly 		WBO middleweight champion
Interim title
April 4, 2026 – July 20, 2026
Promoted		 Vacant
WBO middleweight champion
July 20, 2026 – present		 Incumbent
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