The Denzel Bentley fight with Shane Mosley Jr arrives with the Battersea middleweight no longer holding a world title. The WBO stripped Bentley of the belt he won, and he meets Mosley Jr on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena on the Zuffa Boxing 12 bill, headlined by Chris Billam-Smith vs Cheavon Clarke.
Denzel Bentley fight follows WBO title strip
Bentley said the WBO required him to box mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next. He was willing to take that fight, but had already committed to facing Mosley Jr, which he wanted staged as a voluntary defence or even a non-title bout.
"We put up a really good case and everything we mentioned was kind of ignored," Bentley told Sky Sports. "The reasons as to why they stripped me are their reasons."
He pointed to WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames as an example of a champion permitted to box outside a mandatory obligation. "Adames is able to do a non-title fight and box," Bentley said.
"I was happy to fight Hernandez next year," he added. "They just want to seem like they're doing justice, but they're not."
Shane Mosley Jr arrives ranked No 6 by the WBO
Mosley Jr, son of boxing legend Shane Mosley, is coming off a stoppage victory over Serhii Bohachuk. He is also rated No 6 in the WBO's own rankings, a detail Bentley returned to repeatedly.
"If this was for a world title, everyone would be like this is a good defence. He's No 6 with the WBO, everyone knows his resume, he's fought top fighters and I'd say he deserves a title shot if I'm being honest," Bentley said.
"I deserve to defend my title. I'm being criticised for my move but that's because a lot of people out there are putting out narratives to try and take a hit on Zuffa as a promotional company. I'm just in the middle of the crossfire."
"It's not [fair] but life is not fair. You've just got to take it as it is."
Sixteen months out and delivery driver applications
Bentley is a three-time British middleweight champion. He lost his first world title fight, then rebuilt to win the WBO interim belt, which was later upgraded to the full world championship.
Before the Endry Saavedra fight that secured the interim strap, he had been out of action for more than a year and was looking for work outside the sport.
"I was out for 16 months," Bentley said. "During that time there was no income because I wasn't fighting."
He said he tried to sign up for Amazon delivery work on a zero-hour contract. "It's hard for boxers to get sponsors and I just couldn't get anything going so I was trying to apply for Amazon delivery," he said.
"And there were just no jobs in my area at the time. That's the only reason why I didn't do it."
"I just couldn't get any work. I just had to sit tight and wait for a fight date."
"I don't think I take enough time to sit back and think about my journey. When you put it like that it is quite incredible."
What Bentley expects inside the ropes
Bentley said the frustration of the past weeks has sharpened his focus rather than distracted him. He expects a hard, close-range bout against a fighter he rates highly.
"I'm expecting a dogfight at some point, it should be good. I get excited about these fighters. He's a good fighter and if I turn up I can put on a good performance," he said.
"I'm free of all this circus and I can just move forward and box like I want to do."
Analysis: a non-title bout that still carries weight
Analysis. Mosley Jr's No 6 WBO rating is the factual hinge of Bentley's argument: the opponent is ranked by the same body that removed the title. That makes Saturday's bout a high-level middleweight test on paper, belt or no belt. The source does not say whether the WBO will review Bentley's position, so any route back to a title remains unconfirmed.
The original report is from skysports.com.