Denzel Bentley’s WBO middleweight title is now on a collision course with his Zuffa Boxing debut. The WBO’s Complaint and Grievance Committee has denied Bentley’s appeal and ordered him to defend against mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next, with no fight in between, according to an official WBO notice issued Thursday, October 22.
That puts Bentley’s November 7 bout against Shane Mosley Jr at London’s Copper Box Arena in direct conflict with the belt. The notice says the committee issued a final Award affirming the World Championships Committee’s order, lifted the stay of proceedings, and ordered both camps to confirm their intention to proceed with the mandatory within 24 hours of service of the Award. The matter now goes back to the World Championships Committee for further proceedings.
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri put it plainly on X:
Bentley MUST fight Hernandez NEXT.
Mosley Jr or the belt
BoxingWire reported on October 2 that Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KOs) had signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing and would face Mosley Jr as the co-feature to Chris Billam-Smith vs Cheavon Clarke, while his team appealed to keep the title on the line. That appeal is now gone.
Dan Rafael does not expect Bentley to change course. Reacting to Olivieri’s post, Rafael wrote: “No shock. Bentley will be stripped. He has a signed agreement for another fight.”
The Ring reported that if Bentley goes ahead with Mosley Jr, he will be stripped immediately and Hernandez (11-0, 9 KOs) would fight for the vacant title, with Vito Mielnicki Jr ranked No. 2. As of Friday morning, the WBO had not announced that Bentley had vacated or been stripped, and Bentley had not publicly responded to the ruling.
How it got here
Bentley won the interim WBO title by stopping Endry Saavedra in April. He was elevated to full champion in July when Janibek Alimkhanuly, who was serving a one-year suspension after a positive test, relinquished the belt to move up to super middleweight. At the time, the WBO named Hernandez, 29, of Cuba, as the division’s mandatory challenger.
The WBO ordered negotiations on September 2. With no deal, the fight went to a purse bid. According to the official purse bid minutes, Queensberry Promotions attended but did not bid, and Warriors Boxing won as the only bidder at the $200,000 minimum. Under the 80/20 split, Bentley’s share was $160,000 and Hernandez’s was $40,000, with proposed dates of December 5 or 12 in Phoenix, Orlando, or Las Vegas.
Days later, Bentley’s Zuffa signing and the Mosley Jr fight were announced. Mosley Jr is ranked No. 6 by the WBO.
Bentley’s stance
Bentley argued earlier this month that he had a strong case for a voluntary defense. He told Sky Sports:
I’m more than happy to fight Hernandez. It’s just the situation at hand. We already thought we were fighting a voluntary defence before the end of the year and put things in place for that. This has been thrown on us.
“I don’t want to vacate and I don’t want to be stripped of my title,” he added. “But I have to move forward in my career and I cannot wait around for people to make decisions for me.”
With the appeal denied and the confirmation window running, Bentley’s next move decides whether Hernandez gets his title shot against the champion or for a vacant belt.
