Denzel Bentley to face Shane Mosley Jr at Zuffa Boxing 12 and seeks WBO voluntary defence
Bentley has signed a multi-fight Zuffa deal and asked the WBO to let him defend against Mosley Jr instead of mandatory Yoenli Hernandez.
Denzel Bentley has signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing and wants to keep his WBO middleweight title, not give it up.
His first Zuffa fight is against Shane Mosley Jr at the Copper Box Arena on 7 November. Bentley was ordered to face mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next, but has petitioned the WBO to allow a voluntary defence against Mosley Jr instead, according to The Ring. Zuffa Boxing billed the fight as the co-main event to Chris Billam-Smith against Cheavon Clarke at Zuffa Boxing 12.
Bentley, from London, is 22-3-1 with 18 knockouts. Mosley Jr is 23-5 with 13.
That is a change from Wednesday, when Dan Rafael reported that Bentley would vacate the title rather than accept $160,000 to face Hernandez. At the purse bid, Warriors Boxing, Hernandez's promoter, was the only bidder, and Queensberry attended without bidding.
Frank Warren, Queensberry's promoter, told The Stomping Ground: "I haven't had a contract with him since 2022... I made a decision not to bid for the fight."
Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing
More Boxing from Combat Sports UK
The UK fight briefing
The stories, results and upcoming fights worth knowing. Every Friday.