Denzel Bentley denied WBO permission to defend title against Shane Mosley Jnr
The WBO has told Denzel Bentley he must confirm he is negotiating to face Hernandez next if he wants to keep his title, after a purse bid for that fight was won with a $200,000 offer.
Denzel Bentley will have to fight Shane Mosley Jnr on 7 November without his WBO title if the bout goes ahead as expected, after the sanctioning body rejected his appeal to make the defence.
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced on Thursday that the appeal had been denied. Olivieri said that if Bentley wants to retain the belt, he must confirm that he is in negotiations to face Hernandez in his next fight.
The WBO had already held a purse bid for Bentley against Hernandez, which Hernandez's promoters won with an offer of $200,000. Days later, Bentley's signing with Zuffa was announced, along with confirmation of the Mosley fight.
Bentley told Sky Sports last month that he was willing to take on the mandated challenger. He said: “I'm more than happy to fight Hernandez.” He explained that his team had expected to make a voluntary defence before the end of the year and had made plans on that basis, and that the order to face Hernandez had been forced on them. Bentley said: “I don't want to vacate and I don't want to be stripped of my title.”“But I have to move forward in my career and I cannot wait around for people to make decisions for me.”
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