WBO will make Yoenli Hernandez mandatory contender to Denzel Bentley
Sep 1, 2026 • 2:29 PM ET
Michael Bishop / Premier Boxing ChampionsUnbeaten Cuban middleweight Yoenli Hernandez will be granted his appeal to become the mandatory challenger and next opponent for new WBO middleweight champion Denzel Bentley of England, BoxingScene learned Tuesday.
Hernandez, 11-0 (9 KOs), coming off a hard-fought August 22 majority-decision scrap against Argentina’s Francisco Daniel Veron in Las Vegas, petitioned as the No. 1 contender in a filing sent in by advisor Luis DeCubas Snr and promoter Premier Boxing Champions.
Although London’s Bentley, 22-3-1 (18 KOs), sought a voluntary defense after winning the vacant belt April 4 with a seventh-round TKO of Endry Saavedra in London, the WBO will send him to Hernandez.
The mandatory assignment was long overdue with former unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, and that responsibility remains connected to the belt – new champion or not – an official familiar with the rules explained.
Hernandez is also the No. 1-ranked contender by the WBA, but countryman champion Erislandy Lara – who also fights for PBC – prefers not to fight Hernandez.
For now, no negotiating or fight-date deadlines have been set by the WBO.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
