DENZEL TAKES THE MIDDLE GROUND

By Frank Warren

A HEADY MIDDLEWEIGHT mix is brewing in this country and, on Saturday, Denzel Bentley added a dash of his own ingredients to the potent cocktail.

On the familiar turf of York Hall, Denzel showed himself to be back to his pomp with a destructive dismissal of the threat presented by Derrick Osaze, who had only tasted defeat once before to the now European champion Tyler Denny.

It was a showreel stoppage for the Battersea Banger and he is reacquiring his liking for a quick finish. Three of his last four have ended inside of six minutes, with the blot on his copybook being his decision loss to Nathan Heaney.

You will struggle to witness a more clinical and well executed uppercut than the one that sent Osaze on his way. It was textbook stuff and it demonstrated that Denzel really is a cut above domestic level.

Truth be told, without the loss to Nathan, he would have waved goodbye to the scene last year for good.

Fair play to him, Denzel dusted himself down quickly and insisted that he did not want any routine eight-rounders to get himself back in the swing of things. Instead he has shown his class with two show stopping performances against Danny Dignum and Osaze.

Now there is all to play for and options aplenty.

Middleweight has long been a traditional stronghold in British boxing and there are opportunities to be seized in the division. In our ranks we’ve got Denzel, Hamzah Sheeraz, Nathan, Brad Pauls and James Heneghan flying the flag for us, along with several younger hopefuls starting out.

It is about to get very interesting because Hamzah – the WBC Silver champion – is set to face the Euro champ Denny at the Wembley Edition of Riyadh Season on September 21.

Hamzah is clearly leading the pack at the moment and I do anticipate him fighting for a world title in the near future, should he overcome Denny, as he enjoys lofty rankings with both the WBC and WBO.

I firmly believe Hamzah has a glittering future in front of him and is destined to become a world champion. Perhaps in more than one division.

I would still love to see Hamzah and Denzel get it on because there is no doubt it would be a fight that delivers for the fans in a big way. Denzel remains extremely confident that he can better Hamzah and has always wanted the fight.

There are other options. Denzel is also ranked highly by the WBO and would relish the opportunity to play it again with Janibek Alimkhanuly. The Kazakh holds both the WBO and IBF belts, but I do not think he is the monster some people make him out to be.

If Denzel had believed in himself a bit sooner in their late-2022 fight it could have been a very different story. A sequel would be a great fight to bring over here.

The WBC title is held by Carlos Adames and this fight is a great option for Hamzah, with the WBA title held by Erislandy Lara who, at the age of 41, has surely seen better days. 

It all means that opportunities will surely knock for our clutch of 160-pounders and don’t rule out Brad or Nathan fighting their way into the picture.