LONDON — Former WBO middleweight champion Denzel Bentley has vacated his world title and signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, walking away from a mandated defense after a $200,000 winning purse bid. The decision ends his reign at 160 pounds and lines up a November debut on home soil.
Warriors Boxing, promoter for mandatory No. 1 challenger Yoenli Hernandez, submitted the minimum but winning bid of $200,000 yesterday for the right to stage the WBO-mandated fight between Bentley and Hernandez. Bentley's former promoters Queensberry were present at the purse bid ceremony but did not submit a bid. Apparently unhappy with the prospect of facing Hernandez for roughly $160,000 — 80 percent of the total bid as champion — Bentley chose to discard the strap in favor of Zuffa, as first reported by Dan Rafael.
Bentley, 22-3-1 (18 KOs) of Wandsworth, London, will make his Zuffa debut at Zuffa Boxing 12 on November 7 at the Copper Box Arena in London. The event is headlined by former WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith's 10-round battle against Cheavon Clarke. An opponent for Bentley has not been announced.
The vacancy follows a similar move two weeks ago when fellow British champion Hamzah Sheeraz vacated his WBO super-middleweight title rather than face mandatory challenger Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. Per WBO rules, Hernandez, 11-0 (9 KOs), will likely be directed to negotiate with No. 3-ranked Vito Mielnicki Jnr as the highest available contender, with No. 2-ranked Tim Tszyu currently in advanced talks to face WBA champion Erislandy Lara.