Denzel Bentley drops Shane Mosley Jnr en route to unanimous decision victory

Denzel Bentley defeated Shane Mosley Jnr unanimously after 10 rounds inside London, England’s Copper Box Arena. Far from a classic, but absorbing enough, the Englishman was a worthy winner.

It was the latest twist in a rollercoaster year for the 31-year-old.

Bentley was stripped of his WBO middleweight title last week after opting to face Mosley rather than mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez. The Londoner, who had been elevated to full champion in July, had appealed for permission to make a voluntary defense against 35-year-old Mosley before facing Hernandez, but the sanctioning body – despite Mosley being in its middleweight rankings – rejected his request.

In victory, Bentley spoke of his desire to again challenge for a world belt.

But Conor Benn, ringside wearing an expensive jumper and shouting “easy work”, may come next. Both are signed to Zuffa Boxing.

Mosley, son of the Hall of Famer of the same name, was tagged by a counter right hand in the opening minute as he tried to cut off the ring. The American, based in Las Vegas, took it well and fired back, making Bentley, who had been effective with his jab, aware of his presence.

Bentley, however, likely took the first round.

There was drama in the second when Bentley drilled home a right cross that dropped Mosley heavily. Never down before, the visitor impressively regained his composure despite looking there for the taking when the action resumed.

Bentley did not go all out for the stoppage and Mosley, fighting on instinct it seemed, eventually found the shelter of his stool in the minute break.

“He came on strong in the third round and I thought, damn, I’ve woken the beast here,” Bentley said afterwards.

Mosley admirably worked his way back in the third, had some success in the fourth, and by the fifth seemed to be dictating matters. Bentley was still firing the eye-catching stuff but his opponent, in his UK debut, looked the more productive.

Before the sixth, the Briton was urged to add “a touch of urgency” to his work by coach Martin Bowers. In short, let your hands go.

And he did, at least to a degree.

Mosley was making mistakes, allowing Bentley inside. As the visitor upped his work-rate, and the favorite resisted reciprocation, it was easy to remember Bentley being listless in the past, most famously during an upset loss to Nathan Heaney in 2023.

But Bentley was better than that night. And may have remembered it himself as his quality started to shine.

Bentley had success at the end of the seventh, a left uppercut the best shot he’d thrown since the punch that dropped Mosley earlier. Yet the bout seemed poised – arguments could be made about either being in control – as the bell sounded to start the eighth.

Nip and tuck wouldn’t be an accurate description of the action on display; both were looking to attack, but neither was doing enough to truly boss proceedings. The classier work, however, was still coming from Bentley.

Bentley was awarded the contest at the end via two scores of 96-94 and one of 96-93.