Ahead of this weekend’s Zuffa show in the UK, middleweight Denzel Bentley talks to Ariel Helwani about going up against Shane Mosley Jr as the card’s co-main event, his experience with Zuffa thus far, being stripped of his WBO title and more. Check out some excerpts below with the full interview at the bottom.
Bentley on going through his first promotion under Zuffa
“It’s very different, very demanding, if I’m being honest. But it’s good to get out there and know that there’s a platform and obviously Sky Sports over here in the UK that are pushing us as
fighters, helping us get our names out there, helping us get seen, and hopefully it pays off.
“It’s definitely a well oiled machine, from the inside…They got a lot of people working on the job and things are just so organized and so professional. But on the outside, selling shows and trying to sell tickets to shows and build up shows and all that stuff — obviously that’s been a bit new, especially them being an American company coming to the UK trying to do things their way that they do in America, if that makes sense.
“So, I think once they adjust and get the UK fans behind them it’s going to be a big platform. But behind the scenes, what I’ve experienced on the inside is incredible.”
On why he parted with Queenberry for Zuffa
“Well, my last fight in April, before that I was out for 16 months and I very inactive and obviously I wasn’t happy with the circumstances and stuff around that…I was British and European champion at the time. Because I had just boxed the WBO #2 at the time, we was promised that the winner of that fight goes on to fight for a world title.
“But because of that promise I was advised to vacate my titles and sit tight and wait for the world title shot. Then I think that in July the next year it was announced that I have to fight an eliminator against the #2 again…and that took about 16 months altogether to kind of get over the line.
“So when I did win that title we went back to the office and there was still that bit of uncertainty…I think around that time is when I started thinking I’ve got to look somewhere else and try and speak to other promoters and see where I’m valued and take myself over there and continue my career.
“We made this move to Zuffa that based on the WBO president putting out a tweet and acknowledging the fact that I get a voluntary defense before moving on to fight the mandatory next year. When everyone caught whispers and it was rumored that I’m leaving Queensberry and maybe signing with Zuffa at the time, that’s when things changed and it changed very quickly to the point where I didn’t even have time to make a decision on what it was I wanted to do because we’d already been promised the voluntary defense.
“So I just kind of got caught in the middle of the politics of boxing, but it’s all good.”
On whether he believes the WBO deliberately stripped his belt because he went to Zuffa
“I can’t say for certain but that’s what I think. Honestly that’s what I think. That’s how I feel because there was no other for that statement he put out to be retracted. I mean, for him to say I get a voluntary like it’s all said and done before the end of the year, which I’m having a fight now which could well be a voluntary defense — Shane Mosley Jr is ranked #6 with the WBO and that could have been a solid defense and then we go next year.
“They’ve now taken the title and the person that was mandatory in [Yoenli] Hernandez, he can’t fight for it until next year anyway. So, you’ve just taken my title from me for no reason. I mean, I pay my sanctioning fees like everyone else but in this instance I didn’t feel like I was treated like the champion.”
