4 hrs ago
1 min read
Denzel Bentley will make his Zuffa Boxing debut against a middleweight whose first fight with Zuffa was a smashing success.
The emerging promotional company, in which Ring owner Turki Alalshikh is a partner, announced Friday morning that Bentley will face Shane Mosley Jr. on November 7 in London.
Their 160-pound bout will be the co-feature on a card that’ll match former WBO cruiserweight champ Chris Billam-Smith against British rival Chev Clarke in the main event.
Paramount+ will stream those two bouts from Copper Box Arena in the United States and Canada. Sky Sports will televise the Bentley-Mosley match and the Billam-Smith-Clarke clash in the UK and Ireland.
Bentley’s multi-fight contract with Zuffa was also officially announced Friday.
It is unclear if London’s Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KOs) will defend the WBO middleweight title against Mosley (23-5, 13 KOs), who stopped Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk (27-4, 24 KOs) in the sixth round May 10.
Bentley was ordered to face mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next, but he has petitioned the WBO to allow him to make a voluntary defense of his belt against Mosley. The WBO could deny Bentley’s request and strip him for failing to box Cuba’s Hernandez (11-0, 9 KOs).
Warriors Boxing won a purse bid Tuesday to earn the right to promote Bentley-Hernandez. It appeared clear, though, that its winning bid of $200,000 — the minimum allowed by the WBO — wouldn’t be enough to entice Bentley to take such a difficult fight.
Bentley’s purse for facing Mosley hasn’t been revealed, but it undoubtedly is much more than the $150,000 he would’ve been paid for Hernandez.
The WBO elevated Bentley, 31, from interim champ to full champ once former titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly informed the Puerto Rico-based sanctioning organization in July that he would move up to the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds for his next fight.
Bentley beat Venezuela’s Endry Saavedra (18-2-1, 15 KOs) by seventh-round technical knockout to become WBO interim champ April 4.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.
Announcements

Next
Reports: Bentley joins Zuffa Boxing, will vacate WBO title
Can you beat Coppinger?
Lock in your fantasy picks on rising stars and title contenders for a shot at $100,000 and exclusive custom boxing merch.

Partners












































