Denzel Bentley named three fighters he’d be open to fighting next, after beating Endry Saaveedra to lift the vacant interim WBO middleweight title on April 4 at the O2 Arena in London.
Though refereeing controversies and a wild, feral, firefight between Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora stole many of the headlines on the MF Pro undercard recently, Bentley scored one of the more meaningful wins of his burgeoning career, advancing his record to 22 wins (18 KOs) against three losses, with four wins in a row now since a narrow loss to Nathan Heaney in 2023.
It raises questions as to what is next for Bentley and, when speaking to Seconds Out, he listed three possible opponents ranging from big names in British boxing to a rematch he covets, too.
“I would like to fight Liam Smith and defend it against him,” he said, of just one fight he wants next. “Hopefully I can get them big fights now.”
But it’s not the only big bout he wants.
Smith, 37, is a former world champion in the super welterweight division but, at 37, is at the tail-end of his career with back-to-back losses to Chris Eubank Jr. and Aaron McKenna in his last appearances in a ring. And though he’d secure a good scalp on Smith should he win, he’s also looking at one of the men who last beat him, knowing that would be a status-elevating fight to take, too — especially if he won.
“I know that Chris Eubank Jnr is moving up [after the two fights against Conor Benn at middleweight] but he is fighting at 164 pounds,” Bentley said. “So, maybe he is testing the waters and might come back down.”
Bentley continued: “Those two are the biggest names above me in the division right now, so I would love to fight either of those two.”
A 32-year-old fighter, Pauls has 24 bouts to his name and has rebounded with back-to-back wins — over Omir Rodriguez and Shakiel Thompson — since he dropped a unanimous decision to Bentley back in 2024.
“Pauls just put on a great performance the other day,” he said of the fighter’s win over Thompson on March 28 in Manchester, England.
“He should have a world title shot next,” Bentley said, and “if he goes and wins that, then maybe we can get something going as well.”
