Ringside Report: Denzel Bentley Beats Brad Pauls to Become a Three-Time British Champion

Ringside Report: Denzel Bentley Beats Brad Pauls to Become a Three-Time British Champion

By Matt Elliott

Denzel Bentley became a three-time British middleweight champion last night, as well as winning the vacant European belt, with a unanimous decision win over Brad Pauls at Wembley Arena and immediately set his sights on a rematch with current IBF and WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.  

It was a competitive main event, with both men having their moments, and it brought the watching crowd, who had battled through ‘Storm Darragh’ to be in attendance, to life. Bentley started well, landing a couple of decent right hands, and that pattern followed in the second as Pauls struggled to land anything of real note.

As the fight entered the third round, Pauls connected with a good overhand right and appeared to increase his work rate in response to his opponent’s early success. That pattern followed into the fourth, and in the fifth, he produced his best round of the fight so far, landing two big right hands and a left uppercut as Bentley’s defence appeared to wane.

The ‘Newquay Bomb’ continued his momentum in the sixth, landing the more eye-catching shots, with Bentley struggling to maintain a foothold. Whatever was said in the corner before round seven, Bentley responded. His movement improved markedly as he evaded the attacks from Paul, responding with some spiteful counters as he regained control of a fight that had appeared to be getting away from him.

In the tenth round, Bentley landed a clean left jab that sent Pauls down onto his knees. From ringside, it was a difficult shot to see clearly, but replays show it was both accurate and forceful. It was driven straight into the champion’s left eye, and he made it back to his feet on the count of eight. At this point, both of Paul’s eyes were swelling, and he was blinking intensely as his vision became restricted.

Realising that his grip on the title was loosening, Pauls threw caution to the wind in the eleventh, landing a left to the body and then a good right, before being caught with two big right hands from Bentley, which backed him up. The twelfth followed the same pattern, with Pauls looking for that one big shot, but Bentley was alive to the threat and took no risks as the fight came to its conclusion. The scorecards read 117-110, 116-111, and 115-112, with Bentley now focussed on moving back towards the world stage.

A one-sided contest in the chief support saw Sam Noakes dominate proceedings against Ryan Walsh as he retained his British, Commonwealth, and WBO International lightweight titles. Walsh, who at the age of thirty-eight had earned this shot with a first-round demolition of Reece Mould back in September, was never really in the contest but showed tremendous heart as he made it to the final bell, despite moments where he must have feared he was going to be stopped for the first time in his professional career.

Noakes, who carries big power for the weight, was accurate throughout, landing crisp left jabs and targeting Walsh with rights to the body before switching to a right uppercut, which landed with increasing frequency throughout. A combination of that shot appeared to break Walsh’s nose in round three, blood streaming down his face and his eyes beginning to swell. Noakes took a breather in the fifth, with Walsh landing a few shots of note before he put his foot firmly back onto the accelerator in the sixth. Despite the one-sided nature of the fight, Walsh’s corner were not going to pull him out, and they remained calm throughout, despite it being clear, this wasn’t their night. On the final bell, the two men embraced, with the judges scoring it 120-108 x2 and 119-109.

Lawrence Okolie made a successful start to life as a heavyweight, stopping Hussein Muhamed after just 2:14 of round one. Okolie, who weighed in at 260lbs, landed a right-hand counter which floored Muhamed, who did well to beat the count, but a stumble as he was beckoned forward, was enough for referee Lee Every to call a halt to proceedings. Okolie picks up the vacant WBC Silver title, and with Joe Joyce sat ringside, perhaps that is a fight that could be on the horizon and is certainly an easy one to make.  

David Adeleye banished the memories of his first career defeat against Fabio Wardley last October, as he stopped Solomon Dacres in round one to become the new English heavyweight champion. There was just 1:20 on the clock when Big D threw a big left that caught Dacres on the forehead, sending the champion crashing into the ropes before he settled on the canvas. He battled to get back to his feet, but his legs had gone, and Darren Sarginson waved it off. A statement victory from Adeleye.

Aloys Junior and Lewis Oakford played out an entertaining three rounds as both men looked to land some big shots before Junior detonated a big left that he followed with a cuffing right sending Oakford to the canvas. As the referee counted, he screamed at his opponent to stay down, and when he rose to his feet, Junior immediately landed another big right, and Marcus McDonnell stepped in.

Sean Noakes made a successful first defence of his English welterweight title with a unanimous victory over Matthew Rennie, all three judges scoring it 97-93. Rennie started well, with Noakes taking his time to get the measure of his opponent, but when he did, he took over, landing some brutal uppercuts. Rennie didn’t look in danger of being stopped, but it was a convincing win for the champion.

Royston Barney-Smith continued his progression with a fifth-round stoppage against Andres Navarette. ‘Sugar Boy Roy’ had the Colombian down in rounds three and five from well-timed lefts before a left to the body ended the contest with Navarette unable to make the count.   

Pierce O’Leary delivered a perfectly timed left hook counter to stop Jose Edgardo Perdomo in round three, while Billy Adams won every round against Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira as he moved to 5-0. There was also a victory for debutant George Crotty, who won 40-36 against Dylan Courtney.

Photo Credit: Queensberry Promotions