Denzel Bentley is now a two-time British middleweight champion after a decisive win over Linus Udofia.
Friday night’s main event at The Indigo at O2 was determined on paper to be 50-50 and 12 rounds proved the prediction correct.
Felix Cash vacated the Lonsdale belt he won when he beat Bentley 13 months ago to end 5 months of ‘2 Sharp’ domination. Tonight’s efforts by both challengers have proven just how much it means to win the coveted title.
Udofia looks calmer than the two early boxers. His stab was instrumental in helping him win rounds with Bentley looking for explosives to allow him to knock out his opponents from the inside and powerful punches.
In the second half, Udofia looked stronger and proved that fighting in close quarters shouldn’t be a problem with him being able to find a home sometimes. Bentley then got a foothold in the third round. A left hook kicks off his attack, which is the beginning of Udofia being tied back to the ropes, far too often for his liking during the match.
Bentley had to face Udofia’s stab again in the fourth round. Midfielder Luton chose to use far superior brains to his advantage as his rival Battersea fought his way to throw anything in Udofia’s direction.
As the fight got to the halfway point, Udofia started making a few dents on the Bentley but a pattern started appearing in the last 30 seconds. The former champion would put down his hammer and foot and lunge at Udofia forcing the umpires to think if that would be enough to win the round.
Game seven started with a short left turn from Bentley. His restlessness begins to cause Udofia to break down. Once again in the closing moments of the lesson, he threw it in the sink. One-two, followed by the right hand and shots to the head and body that would close those three minutes for sure.
Bentley had his momentum and aggression in seasons eight and nine making the fight closer than ever. Controversy may have ignited the contest when referee Mark Lyson missed Udofia’s knee touching down after another ferocious Bentley attack, prompting one hand to force his opponent to knock him down.
Udofia returns with some smart rings in the tenth and takes control of 180 seconds. Bentley looked like he was letting off steam after a nine-minute push to put him firmly on hold with a shout-out to be a two-time champion.
The final two innings were a mix of Bentley pressure balanced by Udofia’s ability to dodge shots and spin off the line to return fire. Round 12 could prove to be one for Udofia, however, as his return to the springboard for the masses allows Bentley to look busier and more productive than the two men.
A draw would have been a fair one, but Bentley nodded 116-112, 114-115, 115-113 to make the decision to split the two and raise the British title once more.
“It means a lot to get the belt back,” a gleeful Bentley told Channel 5’s Andy Clarke afterward.
“I don’t like the way of losing, getting back. Most of all it’s a war! I love that I promise you. ”
Is Bentley confident that he will win while waiting for the total score to be calculated?
“I was confident. I’ll be honest with you as good as a fight, I’m surprised it was a divisive decision. A few rounds I injured him. I think in the second half of the fight, four of the six innings I gave him away. But I’m not complaining about the scorecard. I’m happy to have won and I’m happy to have my belt back and to be champion of England again.”
